B.C. man fights extradition to India for murder conspiracy

A lawyer representing the uncle of a young B.C. woman slain in India more than a decade ago says too much time has passed for second-hand witness accounts to be reliable.

Michael Klein made the argument at an extradition hearing for the mother and uncle of Jaswinder 'Jassi' Sidhu.

Her uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha, and her mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu were arrested in Maple Ridge 16 months ago and face extradition to India, where they are wanted for conspiracy to murder the 25-year-old woman in 2000.

Sidhu's co-workers and friends have testified at the extradition hearing that she feared for her life because her family disapproved of her secret marriage to a poor rickshaw driver in India.

• Read what Jaswinder Sidhu's friend told the extradition hearing

Michael Klein says their accounts are unreliable because some of the witnesses admitted having trouble remembering their conversations with Sidhu.

Klein also says it's possible that the witnesses' testimony has been tainted by what they discussed with each other andlearned inmedia reports.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge will decide whether the hearsay evidence should be admissible.