RUPY Sidhu, daughter of Baljit Kaur Kondolay, 37, who was shot to death in her Langley driveway on April 19, 1998, is vehemently opposed to her mother’s killer, Sukhjit Singh Grewall, getting either work release or day parole.
Kondolay’s husband, Ajit Singh Grewall, and her stepson (Ajit’s son), Sukhjit Grewall, then 21, were convicted of first-degree murder in late October 2000 and were both sentenced in January 2001 to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
(Ruling at www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/01/00/2001bcsc0045.htm)
Sandeep Toor, who drove the getaway car, was given a life term in jail with no parole for 12 years in December 2000 for the second-degree murder of Kondolay.
Crown prosecutor Sean Madigan told the court that Baljit was shot at point-blank range “in the forehead, leaving a huge hole, then shot her in the ear.”
Ajit Grewall was still legally married to his previous wife when he wed Baljit, who came from a wealthy farming valley. There was evidence that he was in a tight financial situation and he stood to gain financially from Baljit’s death.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly called Kandolay’s murder “callous, cowardly and cold-blooded.” He said it was an act of “mindless violence and brutality.”
Now Sidhu is being forced to relive the horrific ordeal as she has received Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) notices as Sukhjit Grewall has applied for work release (CSC letter dated February 18), and his day parole review has been scheduled for July 2022 (CSC letter dated February 24).
Sidhu absolutely opposes both the work release and day parole for Sukhjit Grewall.
She has also published an online petition opposing day parole for him:
https://www.change.org/
Here is Sidhu’s March 8 statement:
My mother, Baljit Kaur Kondolay, was violently murdered on April 19th, 1998 in Langley, BC. Her bigamist husband Ajit Grewall, his son Sukhjit Grewall (shooter), and Sukhjit’s friend Sandeep “Sonny” Toor (driver of the car) were convicted of her murder.
- Ajit and Sukhjit were both sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder, with no chance of parole for 25 years. They are currently serving sentences at Mission Institution in Mission, BC. Ajit is detained in medium security and Sukhjit in minimal security.
- Sandeep “Sonny” Toor was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years for the lesser charge of second degree murder. He was granted full parole on April 10th, 2019 from Williams Head Institution and released into the Lower Mainland area.
The killing was a heartless, premeditated, and cold blooded murder committed by these three men. They have never expressed regret or remorse for their actions of robbing my mother of her precious life. Their motive to commit this heinous crime was purely greed to gain significant financial gain. Grewall’s family was in deep financial debt. Ajit coerced my mother to change her Last Will one month prior to the murder, leaving her entire estate to Ajit Grewall and leaving him sole beneficiary of her life insurance policies, while Ajit was still married to his first wife Manjit Grewall.
My family and I were informed by letter from the Correctional Services of Canada last week that Sukhjit Gerwall has submitted an Application for Work Release. We were also informed by another letter last night that he is scheduled for his Day Parole Hearing this coming July, 2022.
It is hard to believe that this 25 year parole ineligibility is nearing its end for Sukhjit, who will be given a second chance to live his life after he robbed my mother’s short life of 37 years. With this news, I have a heavy feeling of pain, sadness, and anger as my family and I continue to suffer a life sentence of great loss and grief. Our deep wounds are still raw and being reopened by these parole applications.
My Mother lost so much to live for:
- Watching her two daughters grow into strong independent woman and missing out on the milestones of becoming a grandmother
- Losing out on watching her siblings grow their own families who she dearly loved and to watch her parents age
- Leaving behind her love for living and her many dear friends
My Mother was a hard working single mother. She was the life of any gathering who supported her community. Her life was taken brutally and violently.
Sukhjit Grewall is a vicious and heartless murderer. He shot my innocent defenseless mother, while she was carrying groceries home. He shot her twice: once in the middle of the forehead and once near her ear. He then took off with Toor to eat at a fast food restaurant. Sukhjit is a killer who the Parole Board of Canada may soon release to our communities, where we work hard to earn a honest living and raise our families.
As the voice of my Mother, I will do all that I can to create awareness of the impending release of a dangerous criminal. I need to prevent the premature release of murderers like Sukhjit and keep them behind bars as long as is necessary. My Mother’s murder is not his only offence. Not even one year after the murder, he was convicted of various offenses arising out of a home invasion in Vancouver on November 17, 1999 . He resorts to violence. The release of Sukhjit will not be safe for our communities. He will most likely reoffend. His most deadly influence and twisted mentor is his father Ajit Grewall, who masterminded my Mother’s murder. Ajit will also be up for parole shortly. It is unknown if Sukhjit has renounced his circle of people living the gang life. Sukhjit is not remorseful. He did not plead guilty to my Mother’s murder; instead the Crown had to spend considerable resources, over two years, to prove his guilt. Mr. Justice S. Romilly described, at the sentencing, my Mother’s death:
“The killing of Baljit and the way she was killed can only be described as callous, cowardly and cold blooded. It was an act of mindless violence and brutality”.
My victim impact statements and this public plea may have a minimal impact on the decision makers of his parole application. However, I won’t allow Sukhjit to be released without letting him know that my family and I are watching this. We will make sure that public safety is not jeopardized. We will oppose his application for parole and attend every single one of them. My Mother’s voice will be present. Her voice will not be silenced by the bullets that Sukhjit viciously shot into my mother.
