NRI woman's gruesome murder shocks London

An Indian-origin woman has been murdered in west London and her right hand severed in a case that led to the arrest of her India-born husband and five others.

People were shocked to find Geeta Aulakh's mutilated body on the streets near a child-minder's house where she had gone to collect her two children. She was working as a receptionist in the popular Asian radio station Sunrise Radio.

Horrified passers-by took her to the hospital where she died four hours later. Friends described her as a "fun-loving girl" who separated from her husband Harpreet, known as Sunny, about a year ago.

A police said Harpreet Aulakh was among six men arrested in connection with her death. Seema Sidha, a news producer at Sunrise, said she could not understand why her friend had been killed.She said: "It is an absolute shock for everyone. Who would do such a thing to another person? To cut her hand off, who would do that?"

Sidha and Geeta left office together at 1830 hrs local time on Monday before the latter took a bus as usual to pick up her children in Greenford. Half an hour later she was attacked. She was pronounced dead at 2320 hrs at Charing Cross Hospital, killed by a blow to the head.

The Metropolitan police have launched a murder inquiry. Avtar Lit, owner of Sunrise Radio, said she came from a "respectable" family but the "strong-minded" Geeta married against the wishes of her parents Nardesh and Lakwinder, a warehouse worker. Geeta was born in Britain to Punjabi parents, while her estranged husband was born in Punjab. Her mother Nardesh Singh, a receptionist at a doctor surgery, described her daughter as "a wonderful person, never a bad word to say, so lively and beautiful".