GEORGE TOWN, April 3 — The Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia Penang branch will request for K. Surinder Kaur Bedi’s body to be exhumed if there is no proof she converted to Islam.
Association advisor Harjinder Singh said Surinder should be cremated and buried according to Sikh custom if she was not Muslim as claimed.
“We are not doing this to cause controversy or problems, we are taking care of our own religion and if she was still a Sikh when she died, we will conduct the Sikh funeral rites for her,” he said in a press conference today.
He said the religious association did not want a confrontation with Surinder’s family members or the Penang Islamic Department and Mufti Department.
They also sought to meet with the state mufti over the matter, but could not as he was away. They instead discussed the issue with three of the department’s officers today.
“They told us that Surinder’s brother informed them that she had converted to Islam two weeks ago, which was why the mufti issued a letter to state that she was a Muslim,” he said.
Harjinder said they were simply asking for documentary proof of the alleged conversion.
Insisting there must be some documentation to support this, he said they would drop the matter if officials are able to furnish them with the requested proof.
He said Surinder’s medical records showed she had not regained consciousness after she was assaulted on Saturday night and subsequently died at 5am on Monday, so she could not have converted then.
The group lodged a police report on Monday evening asking the police to investigate Surinder’s alleged conversion.
Harjinder said yesterday the police told them Surinder’s body was released to the Islamic Department officials for a Muslim burial on Monday because no one else had claimed the body and that there was a letter from the mufti confirming she was a Muslim.
However, he said the mufti’s confirmation was based on her brother’s allegation and should not be considered proof of her conversion.
Harjinder said the Islamic Department has arranged another meeting with them and the Penang mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor on Friday afternoon, adding that his group was also advised not to contact Surinder’s family.
Surinder’s boyfriend allegedly assaulted her with a helmet after a heated argument on Saturday night and the 37-year-old cook was sent to the hospital in a critical condition before dying at 5am on Monday.
Her brother, Imran Khan, lodged a police report the same day claiming Surinder recited the Islamic oath for conversion to him and was consequently a Muslim.
Surinder was buried in accordance with Muslim rites at the Jelutong Muslim Cemetery at 3pm on Monday.
Harjinder said Surinder’s father had converted to Islam, followed by her mother and brothers, more than 20 years ago, but she did not and remained officially a Sikh.
