Angry in the Great White North

Paul Cheema, also known as Narinder Paul Cheema, was attacked by the same alleged home invaders in Burnaby, British Columbia, who murdered his wife Shemina Cheema (formerly Shemina Hirji). Though Hirji was killed, Cheema was essentially unharmed.

Police investigating the murder say the three suspects are the only suspects, even as they have executed two search warrants on the Cheema home.

There has been a lot of speculation that the tension between the families (Cheema was Sikh, and Hirji was Muslim) might have played a role in this murder.

The whispering that this was more than just a random and tragic murder (police have refused to rule out the possibility that Shemina Hirji was directly targeted) will grow louder with the revelation that Narinder Paul Cheema had spent time in prison after an arranged marriage with Paramjit Singh collapsed, convicted of stealing her car, kidnapping her, and threatening to kill her and her family:

The husband of a Surrey, B.C., school principal who was killed in a July 5 home invasion had been convicted and jailed in Manitoba in 1995, court documents obtained by CBC News reveal.

Narinder Pal Cheema, alias Paul Cheema, was found guilty of forcible confinement, two counts of uttering threats to cause death or serious bodily harm, as well as one count of attempted kidnapping, according to Manitoba provincial court documents.

Fourteen years ago, Cheema was engaged to Paramjit Singh in Winnipeg after an arranged marriage, the Manitoba court documents show.

Singh claimed Cheema abducted her by knifepoint on Dec. 15, 1994, after the wedding was called off. She alleged Cheema threatened to kill her family and was trying to take her back to British Columbia before she escaped.

While out on bail, he didn't stay away from Singh as ordered.

Five weeks after the first incident, Cheema was charged for attempting to kidnap Singh again, stealing her car and threatening to kill her and her family. He was found guilty on one count of forcible confinement and two counts of uttering threats.

A Manitoba provincial court judge in May 1995 sentenced Cheema to 12 months for one count of forcible confinement, and six months for uttering threats to be served concurrently.

The judge sentenced him to another 24 months of jail time for one count of attempted kidnapping.

Notice how the CBC said "Paul Cheema" was an alias of "Narinder Paul Cheema" -- that's a choice of words used for criminals and suspects. Innocent people don't have aliases. Reports will mention that such a person "also goes by the name of".

Radio India in British Columbia added more details to the events in Paul Cheema's past:

According to the court documents, provided to local media by Surrey's Radio India, Cheema was accused of kidnapping his fiance at knifepoint in December of 1994 and threatening to kill her and members of her family.

While on bail in B.C. on the six charges laid after the first complaint, Cheema returned to Manitoba in February 1995 and attempted to grab the woman a second time. He faced another seven charges, including attempted kidnapping, uttering more threats and possession of a pellet handgun.

Several of the charges were stayed after he was found guilty on two of the threatening charges from December 1994 and the attempted kidnapping in February 1995. He was sentenced to 24 months in jail, the records show.

Here is another report that provides a better sense of what happened between Paul Cheema and Paramjit Singh:

According to CTV and CBC, court documents show that in December 1994, Cheema, of Surrey, went to Winnipeg and forcibly confined an ex-girlfriend at knifepoint.

The woman escaped after 10 hours and Cheema was slapped with a restraining order.

Two months later, he returned and tried to abduct the woman at gunpoint. She escaped after family members heard her scream. Cheema was subsequently jailed.

The police aren't saying anything:

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr refused to comment Thursday on court documents from Manitoba showing that Cheema, who uses the name Paul, was convicted in June 1995 of attempting to kidnap and uttering death threats against Paramjit Singh, a young woman he had been engaged to marry. He was 22 and lived in Surrey at the time.

More disturbing is that the Hirji family knew nothing and insist that Shemina Hirji could not have known about Paul Cheema's violent past:

Hirji's father Amir said late Thursday that he knew nothing of the criminal convictions of his son-in-law. And he told The Sun he doesn't think his daughter knew anything about Cheema's record either.

"If she knew, she would have told me," he said, adding that his family is doing "so-so" in coping with the tragedy.

The latest news reports are reiterating and embellishing on the underlying tensions from the interfaith marriage or Paul Cheema and Shemina Hirji:

Just days earlier, Cheema and Hirji, 40, were married in a lavish ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Several close members of Cheema's family were absent from the interfaith marriage. Cheema is from a Sikh family and Hirji was an Ismaili Muslim.

It might turn out that this Cheema's past will turn out to have no connection to the events surrounding Shemina Hirji's murder. You can be sure, though, that the RCMP have been working this angle intensely.

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