SURREY – An Indo-Canadian man and his two accomplices, including an Indo-Canadian woman, charged with the 2007 murder of his wife Amanpreet Kaur Bahia have been ordered to stand trial.
After a lengthy investigation – police arrested and charged Amanpreet’s husband Baljinder Singh Bahia, 41, last year. RCMP also charged two others, 33-year-old Eduard Viktorovitch Baranec and Tanpreet Kaur Athwal, 42. All three were charged with first-degree murder.
It is not known what relation Bahia and Athwal had or whether they were having an affair at the time of the murder.
Amanpreet’s body was found in a pool of blood in her home near 125 Street and 58 Avenue more than five years ago by family members who had returned from an outing.
Police described the death as a “brutal, violent attack. Two of her three young daughters were home when the murder occurred, left to fend for themselves for several hours while their mother lay dead.
In laying charges last year, police revealed that Bahia’s husband was identified as a “person of interest” early in the investigation.
In December 2010, investigators from the Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crime Historical Case Unit – South provided investigators with new information that assisted in advancing the investigation, said police.
The trial was ordered Tuesday (May 15) after a short preliminary hearing that began the day before in Surrey Provincial Court.
The trio’s case will now proceed to B.C. Supreme Court. A trial date has not been set.
