TENILLE BONOGUORE AND JASON OVERDORF
Globe and Mail Update
TORONTO AND DELHI — A Vancouver logistics executive is under arrest in India and facing extradition to the United States for allegedly killing his estranged wife and fleeing to his homeland.
A worldwide Interpol arrest warrant was issued for Avtar Singh Grewal, 32, on Friday after the body of his estranged wife, Navneet Kaur, was found in her home in Ahwatukee, a bedroom community of Phoenix.
Ms. Kaur's co-workers from Assist Technologies, a world-leader in electronic data collection, were worried when the project manager did not arrive at work on Friday.
Checking on Ms. Kaur's home, her colleague found signs of a violent and bloody struggle, and called police, reports say.
An alert was issued that day for Mr. Grewal, who was reportedly seen outside Ms. Kaur's home at 10.30 p.m. Thursday night.
Delhi police arrested Mr. Grewal late Saturday night at Indira Gandhi International Airport after the Interpol Red Corner notice was declared by the U.S. police, the Indian press reported.
He had allegedly flown from Phoenix to Newark, N.J., where he reportedly caught a one-way Continental Airlines flight to India.
Mr. Grewal appeared in front of a magistrate at the Patiala House Courts on Sunday and was placed in judicial custody.
He appeared in court again Monday for the initiation of extradition proceedings to the United States. Delhi police said they are not investigating the matter, saying the accused had not committed any crime in India.
Mr. Grewal and Ms. Kaur married in Delhi in 2005, but they had been living separately due to their jobs, said Ms. Kaur's father Rattan Singh, a former officer in the Indian Police Service.
“Grewal wanted Navneet to leave her job in Phoenix and stay with him in Canada,” Mr. Singh told Delhi media.
“But Navneet, a qualified software engineer working at a senior level, didn't want to quit. This led to strained relations between the couple.”
Phoenix police told local media Ms. Kaur was seeking a divorce.
Ironically, Mr. Grewal fled virtually into the arms of his alleged victim's family, as Mr. Singh lives near the IGI Airport in Gurgaon with his wife and son.
On Monday, Mr. Singh left for America to bring back his daughter's body.
Ms. Kaur's brother Sandeep Singh told Times of India that he spoke to his sister the morning of her death.
“He (Mr. Grewal) put many restrictions on my sister Navneet and used to keep her confined. A few months back, she wanted to attend our cousin's marriage and asked him to accompany her, but he said he would not go and did not let her attend the wedding either,” Mr. Singh said.
