An Indo-Canadian man from Surrey who is accused of murdering his wife is facing a court application to temporarily freeze his assets. In December, Navinder Singh Gill was charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Harpreet Kaur Gill. The victim died without a will, and the lawsuit says that the plaintiff intends to apply for permission to administer her estate.

SURREY – An Indo-Canadian man from Surrey who is accused of murdering his wife is facing a court application to temporarily freeze his assets.

In December, Navinder Singh Gill, 40, was charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Harpreet Kaur Gill, 40.

The mother of three young children was stabbed while in the family home in the 12700-block of 66th Avenue in Surrey on the night of Dec. 7. She died of her injuries after being taken to a local hospital, according to police.

Navinder Gill was initially arrested Dec. 7 but released from custody and then rearrested Dec. 15 and charged with murder the following day.

The accused remains in custody, according to the civil lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court by the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C., an organization which protects the interests of British Columbians who lack the legal capacity to do so, including children under 19, reported Postmedia..

The victim died intestate, or without a will, and the lawsuit says that the plaintiff intends to apply for permission to administer her estate.

The criminal trial is pending but the lawsuit claims that the defendant caused the death of his wife either intentionally, wrongfully or negligently.

“Particulars of the manner of the death and the exact manner which the defendant caused the death of the deceased are as yet unknown to the plaintiff but will be provided as and when known,” says the suit.

The suit says that the Public Guardian, pursuant to its powers under the law, obtained an account statement for a bank account held in the joint names of the deceased and the defendant.

And it claims that on Dec. 12, $92,500 was withdrawn from the couple’s joint bank account with another $170,000 being withdrawn from the account on Dec. 14. The $170,000 withdrawn was from a line of credit granted to the couple, says the suit.

No response has been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been tested in court.

Harpreet’s father, Jasbir Singh Bajwa, said earlier his daughter worked as a science teacher in India and Australia before getting married in 2011. He says his daughter and her husband moved with their small family to Canada in 2015.

The victim’s father said the couple was happy when they first immigrated to Canada. However, things changed when Harpreet’s in-laws moved in, claiming her husband became more aggressive.

Courtesy Postmedia