Indian Man Jailed 34 Years in UK for Kidnapping, Rape, Torture

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LONDON: An Indian man living in the UK has been jailed for 34 years for kidnapping, raping, torturing and beating up a woman after she refused to carry a suitcase of “unknown items” from Thailand to the UK. Gagandeep Singh (34), an Indian citizen living in Wandsworth, southwest London, was on Friday jailed on two counts of rape, false imprisonment, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and kidnap. He was convicted following a jury trial at Isleworth Crown Court in Feb. The court heard how the victim – a 24-year-old woman – became suspicious when she was asked to deliver the suitcase from Thailand back to the UK in June 2024. She refused, and when she arrived at Birmingham Airport she was put into a car and driven to London by masked men. She was taken to a house in Hanwell, west London, where she was subjected to prolonged torture, including by Singh, who also raped her on two occasions, the court was told. After being subjected to more than a day of torture, including being punched in the face, beaten, stripped, whipped, burnt and raped, the woman was released by her captors. She was threatened and warned not to tell anyone what had happened. But she told her mother who contacted police and made an initial third-party report. Six weeks later, the woman felt able to give police a full account of what happened. The clothing she had been wearing when she was kidnapped had been kept aside at her home. This was submitted for forensic examination and it revealed a one-in-a-million positive DNA match for Singh, who at the time was in prison on remand for an unrelated offence. Singh will be deported with no right of re-entry after serving his sentence.