The mayor-elect of an east London council has withdrawn his nomination after it was revealed that his wife was involved in the killing of a TV executive.

Varinder Singh Bola was announced last week as mayor-elect of the London borough of Redbridge. However, he said on Tuesday he would not assume the ceremonial role after his wife’s criminal past was reported in the media.

Mundill Mahil, who married Singh Bola in 2016, was given a six-year jail sentence in 2012 for luring 21-year-old Gagandip Singh to her Brighton flat, where he was attacked by another man, tied up and left to die in a burning car.

A court heard that Gagandip Singh, who ran his own satellite TV station, was attacked in revenge for trying to force himself on Mahil on a previous occasion. Mahil was convicted of grievous bodily harm and released on licence in 2014.

Harvinder Shoker, who was said to be infatuated with Mahil, was convicted of murder and jailed for a minimum of 22 years. Darren Peters was also convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years.

In a statement on Tuesday, Singh Bola said: “I have taken time and reflected on the events of the past weekend and the concerns of my family, friends and colleagues and have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for the mayoralty of Redbridge.

“The Redbridge mayoralty is a hugely important and distinguished position and one which I do not wish to do undue harm by allowing it to become mired in controversy. I stand united with my beloved wife and my wider family. They have always loved and supported me and now it is my time to shield them from public speculation and hearsay.”

Cllr Jas Athwal, leader of the Redbridge Labour group, said: “I accept Cllr Singh Bola’s decision to withdraw his nomination. We will now move on and look at further candidates for mayor of Redbridge in 2019-20”.

Speaking to the Mail Online last week, Gagandip Singh’s sister, Amandip Kaur Singh, condemned the decision to give Singh Bola the position of mayor, complaining that his wife would “be on his arm at official functions, where she’ll no doubt launch a charm offensive with the gathered dignitaries”.

“My brother’s life was snatched away when it was just about to really begin and as a family we’ve been struggling to deal with it ever since,” she said. “Yet she’s served a meagre prison sentence, married a high-flying politician and is now trying to ingratiate herself into polite society.

“Not once has she ever admitted her guilt or apologised to us. She’s moved on and is trying to pretend nothing ever happened.”

• This article was amended on 16 January 2019. Mundill Mahil was given a six-year jail sentence in 2012, not three years as we first reported. This has been corrected.