Angry in the Great White North

The English language press in British Columbia is reporting on the terrible murder of Shemina Hirji:

A newlywed school principal was slain and her husband hospitalized in an apparent home invasion Thursday.

Shemina Hirji was pronounced dead shortly after police arrived on scene in the afternoon.

Her body remained in the Burnaby condominium unit as investigators combed the area for clues late into the evening.

Ms. Hirji's husband, Paul Cheema - whom she married Saturday in a lavish ceremony - was taken to hospital. Police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Police would not say how Ms. Hirji died, or the nature of Mr. Cheema's injuries.

So the woman is murdered, but the man, the primary threat to criminals, is so lightly injured that he is released from hospital. Lucky for police he was more seriously injured, as he was the only witness to the attack.

Paul Cheema is a Sikh. Shemina Hirji was Muslim.

Now here is what you won't here reported in the regular press. I've been told the East Indian radio stations are reporting that this might have been an honour killing.

The English press is reporting that police are "tight-lipped" and that they won't discuss the nature of Shemina Hirji's injuroes. In fact, many of the details of the case are being kept very quiet.

At least one blogger, Singh on the World, is publicly discussing the possibility that Shemina Hirji was the target of an honour killing:

I wonder if this is an honour killing of Shemina Hirji. She was just married according to the article and had written about the role of Sikh teachers in the BC school system. Her husband, Paul Cheema, from his name sounds like a Sikh as well. I don't know either of them or the background, but if it is an honour killing I wouldn't be surprised. The surprise would be if it was committed by an Ismaili who aren't generally known for doing those sorts of things. It's a sad situation as it is and would be made only more so if it turns out to be an honour killing based on a Muslim woman marrying a Sikh man.

The fact that the attack happened with days of the wedding was either tragic coincidence, or an indication that the wedding was the triggering event for the attack motivated by anger at the relationship between these two.

These are serious allegations, and I hope they're wrong. But then I have to admit there are elements of the crime that raise some red flags for me too. The RCMP are involved in the case, so with their resources being applied, the truth will hopefully come out.

If it was a home invasion gone bad, then dangerous and desperate criminals are on the loose.

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