HE sun is streaming through the window of the Glasgow law office where Manjit Sangha is quietly sitting, lighting up her tear-stained face.
It is an emotional time for her – she is the sister of Surjit Singh Chhokar, the Sikh waiter from India brutally murdered in Overtown, Lanarkshire, nearly 14 years ago. In the wake of the imprisonment of two of the killers in the Stephen Lawrence case, Manjit now fears this is the last chance she and her ageing parents have of seeing their son's killers brought to justice.
The Chhokar killing was dubbed Scotland's Stephen Lawrence case. The father-of-two was 32 when he was stabbed through the heart outside his girlfriend's home on November 4, 1998.
Despite the arrest of three men for his death and two subsequent trials, no-one was ever convicted in the case. Ronnie Coulter walked free from the first murder trial in 1999 after he blamed his nephew, Andrew Coulter, and David Montgomery for the killing. Andrew Coulter and Montgomery stood trial the following year, but claimed Ronnie Coulter was responsible and were also acquitted of murder.
The Lord Advocate at the time, Colin Boyd, admitted that the family had been failed by the Crown Office. An apology was issued to the family in 2001. Two independent reports also found failings in the way the case was handled by police. One report found evidence of "institutional racism" by police and the procurator fiscal system.
The family have lived the last decade with the burden of believing they would never see justice. However, changes to the double jeopardy law, which came into play at the end of last year, mean a second trial is now possible.
Manjit and her daughter – Surjit's niece – Jasneet, 30, are discussing their lost loved one in the office's of their solicitor, Aamer Anwar. However, the family say they have spent the past 13 years in the dark, feeling abandoned by the Scottish authorites. But now they see a ray of light after finally securing a meeting with the current Lord Advocate.
They will also visit the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, alongside Anwer and high-profile supporters like Glasgow SNP MSP Humza Yousaf and former Strathclyde Police chief – now a Labour MSP – Graeme Pearson.
"All we want from them is to have a look at the case again, please," pleads Manjit, now 50, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "And do something for us so my parents can have peace of mind before they die.
"We lost everything on that night when Surjit died. That night was a dark night for my family because that turned everything upside down.
"Then we had a chance of justice when the three men were charged. But it's been 13 years. We're still standing at the same place 13 years on. No justice has been given to us."
Revisiting the case, Manjit says, is the last chance the authorites have to right the wrongs they did to her family.
"They know they made those mistakes and they can sort those mistakes out now," says Manjit. "They have an excellent chance and they should take it."
Her daughter Jasneet adds: "We can't keep asking them, they need to give us something back now. The Crown Office said sorry many, many years ago. But after that we became forgotten.
"Now we want to know: 'Is there some hope? Are you guys going to act on this – are you going to do anything to help us?'."
A spokeswoman from the Crown Office told the Sunday Herald that it was too early to speculate on how the case would be dealt with, but confirmed that arrangements were being made for the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, to meet the family.
She said: "The Lord Advocate has spoken with Aamer Anwar, solicitor to the Chhokar family, and confirmed that both the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General would be pleased to meet with the Chhokar family."
The health of Darshan Chhokar, 73, and his wife Gurdev, 72, has deteriorated in the years since their son was killed.
In the three years after Surjit's death, Darshan campaigned up and down the country, along with the family of murdered black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, to raise awareness of the case.
The recent convictions in that case, 18 years after it took place in south London, have also given the Chhokar family renewed hope.
"I was reading the papers every day when the Stephen Lawrence trial was happening," says Manjit. "We are very happy for the family, that after all those years, they got a wee bit of justice. At least their heart will be a wee bit settled."
Manjit says her parents "cannot fight anymore" but live in hope. "The past 13 years have been very hard," says Manjit. "My parents' health, especially my dad's health, has gone really downhill."
Jasneet adds: "My grandfather doesn't have the energy. He can't do another campaign."
Manjit goes on: "And still after 13 years you know, we have a wee bit of hope that they will be brought back to the court and we will be able to get some justice for the Chhokar family."
The family can still remember the moment Ronnie Coulter, the first person tried for the brutal murder of her brother, was acquitted by the jury and walked free from court.
"They were smiling and grinning, having a jolly old time in court in front of everyone and our family's sitting there asking what's happening," says Jasneet, visibily angry.
Lawyer Anwar, who is spearheading the family's fight for justice, believes that advances in technology mean new evidence could come to light, but that a pubic appeal is the key to seeing justice done.
"What we're asking is for things to be done right," he says. "They're losing a real window of opportunity which is a public appeal for witnesses. Somebody on that street saw what happened and they must have a guilty conscience." Manjit is again moved to tears as she describes her brother as a "very loving" man.
Born in Punjab, India, the family migrated to Southall in Middlesex when Surjit was nine, in 1975, and moved to Scotland a decade later.
"The sad thing is he was my only brother," says Manjit. "And sometimes I feel that I'm left alone in the world. After my mum and dad I will have no-one from my blood. I'll be lost. My brother was my brother."
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