Rupy Sidhu says she will be her “mother’s voice” at the parole hearing of the man who had a hand in her mom’s murder.
On April 19, 1998, Sidhu’s mother, Baljit Kaur Kondolay, was brutally murdered in Langley.
She was shot twice in the head in front of her home.
Police arrested three men — Kondolay’s husband Ajit Grewall, his son Sukhjit Grewall and the son’s friend, Sandeep Toor.
The Grewalls both received life in prison for first degree murder, with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Toor was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 12 years for the lesser charge of second degree murder. During his trial, it was established that Toor drove the car that transported the men to and from the crime scene.
Toor has applied for Unescorted Temporary Absence (UTA) and the Baljit’s family plans to attend his parole hearing on Tuesday (July 25) at Williams Head Institution in the Greater Victoria area.
Sidhu was holding out in hopes this hearing will be cancelled, however it is still scheduled to proceed and she says “I need to continue to be my mother’s voice.”
“Myself and my uncle, Balraj Kondolay, will be my mother’s voice and present a victim impact statement at the hearing next week,” Sidhu told the Times. “Other family members will also be there to show support.”
Sidhu wanted to bring awareness that there is still a possibility that Toor could be approved UTA, followed by full parole.
“Toor can once again be given freedom and released in our community with a very high probability to re-offend,” Sidhu said. “We need to keep him behind bars. My mother will never be given freedom to be in our lives again and we as victims continue to be victimized.”
Sidhu turned 37 this year, and her mother’s life was taken at 37 years .
“How does that make any sense? ” Sidhu said. “Toor is now 40 years old, why does he continue to live after taking one’s life.”
Sidhu said her mom has missed so much, while she and her sister were deprived of a mother.
“Her parents lost a daughter; siblings lost a sister; nephew and nieces lost an aunt. My children never got to meet their grandmother,” Sidhu said. “We pray this offender will be denied UTA or freedom — we will continue with this fight to keep him behind bars.”
In 2013, Toor applied for parole, which was scheduled to take place that fall.
Sidhu started an online petition, speaking to anyone who could help get the word out to sign it. More than 2,700 people signed it and she believes that may have had influence on why a parole hearing never happened.
She said the hearing was postponed on a number of occasions before it was cancelled.