A British grandmother has been jailed for life for ordering the murder of her cheating daughter-in-law.
Bachan Athwal (70), was told by an Old Bailey judge that she must serve a minimum term of 20 years in prison before she is eligible for release.
The court heard that her daughter-in-law Surjit Athwal disappeared "off the surface of the earth" after going to a family wedding with her in India in December 1998.
Bachan, a mother of six and grandmother of 16, ordered Surjit's death at a family meeting after discovering her daughter-in-law, a Heathrow Customs officer, had been having an affair and wanted a divorce.
Her body was never found but Bachan boasted to her family that she had arranged for her brother to strangle her and throw the corpse into a river.
It was years before frightened relatives came forward to police, giving them the evidence they needed to charge Bachan and her son Sukhdave, Surjit's husband.
Bachan and Sukhdave Athwal (43), both of Willow Tree Lane, Hayes, west London, were found guilty of murder in July.
Sukhdave was also jailed for life on Wednesday, with a minimum term of 27 years in jail.
PA