NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Parminder Singh's chilling call to triple-0 after murdering his wife

By Olivia Lambert
news.com.au·
6 Oct, 2016 05:24 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Nikita Chawla was murdered by her jealous husband. Photo / Facebook

Nikita Chawla was murdered by her jealous husband. Photo / Facebook

Pariminder Singh punched "000" into the phone while his wife lay dead on the floor.

Emotionless and cold, Singh simply and chillingly told emergency operators they needed to come and "collect the dead body".

He had just chopped his wife Nikita Chawla with a meat cleaver in a jealous rage, a horrific case of domestic violence.

The Coroners Court of Victoria has released details about the demise of their love and how a marriage ended in murder.

Ms Chawla was just 24 when she was killed in Melbourne and she had dreams of being a world famous Bollywood dancer and choreographer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She already owned her own dance studio by 2010 and it was her life passion, she had it all.

Nikita Chawla was attacked in her bedroom. Photo / Facebook
Nikita Chawla was attacked in her bedroom. Photo / Facebook

A year later she met Singh and fell in love. They married just 10 months later.

However, the marriage and relationship was kept a secret from Ms Chawla's family.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She finally introduced her new husband to her family in 2012 but called him 'Robin'.

The coroner's report said the meeting went badly and Singh believed his wife's family didn't approve of him.

The couple bought a home in Brunswick West in Melbourne's north and lived there until Ms Chawla's murder in January 2015.

Singh was an angry man and Ms Chawla had anxiety and depression according to the coroner's report. Just months before Ms Chawla's death, Singh began to realise his anger was a risk to his wife after she found him anxious and aggressive.

Singh was dependent on alcohol and marijuana and he returned to India for a visit.

He started to worry about his marriage and believed it was deteriorating as his wife just got a new job and had a relationship with a man she worked with.

She made the decision to end her marriage to Singh.

Nikita Chawla dreamt of being a world famous Bollywood dancer. Photo / Facebook
Nikita Chawla dreamt of being a world famous Bollywood dancer. Photo / Facebook

It was hard for the pair to talk while Singh was in India and he was angry about the separation and that she had started looking for other places to live.

He came back to Melbourne to see his wife and he became jealous as he thought Ms Chawla was having an affair.

He grabbed her mobile phone and scrolled through the messages as his wife slept and found texts from the man he suspected was in a relationship with his wife.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He felt betrayed and angry by what he had seen, and it was something he would not be able to get over.

Nobody knows what happened between Ms Chawla and Singh the night she died but about 1.30am on January 9, Singh made the creepy call to emergency operators.

The coroner's report said Singh was calm and detached as he told them he needed police to collect his wife's dead body because he cut his wife's throat.

"I got my wife - right - I killed her. I love her so much, I had a bright future with her and then she's been cheating on me ... I just find out today and I - I think my anxiety took over and then I lost it ... I think I couldn't control myself and I hold a big knife and kept hitting her until she stopped breathing," he said.

Police found Ms Chawla's body in the bedroom and she had gruesome stab wounds to her upper body. A meat cleaver was dropped next to the bed.

After calling triple-0 Singh walked away from the home but was caught by police soon after.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The coroner's report said during Singh's Supreme Court plea hearing for the murder, his counsel said it was Singh's intention to kill himself.

Singh claimed to have had a black out when he attacked his wife and he did not remember every detail of what he did.

He told police he also saw photographs of the man on Ms Chawla's phone, and that's when he got the knife and "got scared".

The Coroners Prevention Unit found the couple's relationship was deteriorating at the time of death and said actual or pending separation increased the risk of family violence.

Singh had also stopped treatment for his alcohol and drug abuse before the murder.

On October 9, 2015, Singh pleaded guilty to Ms Chawla's murder and was later sentenced to 22 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry told Singh "your actions in murdering your wife were, in many respects, an exercise of control to ensure that she did not share her life with anyone else".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Expecting cake? It's something hairy and venomous instead

World

Outback killer Bradley John Murdoch dies day after murder anniversary of UK tourist

World

Ukraine's air defence: Patriot missile systems are useful but no panacea


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Expecting cake? It's something hairy and venomous instead
World

Expecting cake? It's something hairy and venomous instead

German customs officials found spiders crammed into containers inside red cake boxes.

15 Jul 10:24 PM
Outback killer Bradley John Murdoch dies day after murder anniversary of UK tourist
World

Outback killer Bradley John Murdoch dies day after murder anniversary of UK tourist

15 Jul 10:03 PM
Ukraine's air defence: Patriot missile systems are useful but no panacea
World

Ukraine's air defence: Patriot missile systems are useful but no panacea

15 Jul 10:01 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP