A husband who strangled and killed his wife in Southall because he wrongly thought she was having an affair has been jailed.
Harijinder Pal, 39, harboured delusional thoughts of jealousy against wife Kulvir Kaur and strangled the 21-year-old in 2009, after they had been living together for just 16 days.
Pal admitted manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to a hospital order and restriction order without limit of time under the Mental Health Act.
The couple had wed in an arranged marriage in India in 2008. Pal moved to England to live with Ms Kaur in 2009, where they lived in a house in Ringway with a family friend and his nephew. She worked for a linen cleaning company in Southall and was described as a happy person who was always smiling.
Friends of theirs said they appeared to be a happily married couple, but on February 28, Pal strangled his wife with a ligature. Medical experts concluded at the time of the killing that Pal was suffering from a schizoid affective disorder which meant he had delusional jealousy with no basis in fact at all. This was agreed by both the prosecution and the defence.
However, a recent assessment of his mental health led to him being deemed fit to stand trial at the Central Criminal Court on December 4, where he admitted the manslaughter charge.
Baljit Ubhey, chief crown prosecutor for CPS London said: “Only 16 days after moving in together Kulvir was strangled to death by Pal. He claimed that his motivation for the killing was his belief that his wife had been having affairs with other men. These allegations were completely untrue and unfounded. The allegations caused great distress to Kulvir's family and have had a significant impact on their lives. I hope that Pal's conviction and sentence provides some comfort to them."
Last month, domestic abuse sufferers took to the streets of Southall to raise awareness of the plight of women who suffer at the hands of men.
