COUNCILLOR withdrew his nomination for mayor of Redbridge on Tuesday (15) after it emerged that his wife had been involved in the murder of a 21-year-old Sikh man.
Councillor Varinder Singh-Bola’s wife, Mundill Mahil, was imprisoned in 2012 for grievous bodily harm (GBH) after she lured Gagandip Singh to his death.
After she set a “honeytrap” for Singh at her Brighton flat, the TV executive was beaten over the head by Harvinder Shoker and Darren Peters. Singh was then tied up with an electrical
cord, stuffed in the boot of his own car and set on fire in southeast London. It is believed that he was still alive when the car was torched.
After her release from prison, Mahil married Singh-Bola in Kent in 2016.
The Labour councillor made the announcement last week that he would be the mayor-elect, but in response to criticism from the media and members of Singh’s family, later said he would be withdrawing his name for the position of mayor.
“I have taken time and reflected on the events of the past weekend and the concerns of my family, friends and colleagues. I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for
the mayoralty of Redbridge,” he said in a statement.
“The Redbridge mayoralty is a hugely important and distinguished position and one which I do not wish to do undue harm by allowing it to become mired in controversy.”
He added that he stood united with his “beloved wife” Mahil.
In response to Singh-Bola’s withdrawal, the leader of the Redbridge Labour Group, councillor Jas Athwal, said “I accept Cllr Singh-Bola’s decision to withdraw his nomination, we will now move on and look at further candidates for mayor of Redbridge in
2019/20”.
The victim’s family, including his sister Amandip, publicly expressed outrage last week at the prospect of Mahil’s position in public life.
“[Mahil] has only been out [of prison] for four years and is now going to be a mayoress, through her husband, but will be afforded as much respect as him,” Amandip, 26, said. “She will be on his arm at official functions, where she’ll no doubt launch a charm offensive with the gathered dignitaries. But she doesn’t deserve any of it.”
She added that the former medical student had never admitted guilt or apologised for the crime.
A court heard in 2012 that Mahil and Singh were in a relationship that ended badly after she accused him of sexual assault.
The two killers were jailed for their involvement in the crime, with Shoker receiving a life sentence for murder while Peters was locked up for 12 years for manslaughter.
Mahil was jailed for six years for causing grievous bodily harm but was released on license in 2014 after serving half of her sentence.
Earlier, Singh-Bola, an Ilford councillor who worked as a senior official in the office of Ilford South MP Mike Gapes, defended his wife, saying: “I stand by my wife who has long been
involved in charities and grassroots politics, well before I even met her.
“We have refrained from publicising our side of the story, and instead have been focusing on giving back to the community.”
