Blog

Four Indian-origin men in the UK were on Friday sentenced to a total of 122 years of imprisonment after they were found guilty in the murder of a 23-year-old driver, who was also of Indian heritage.

In August last year, Aurman Singh, the delivery driver, was killed when he was brutally attacked with an axe, a golf club, a wooden stave, a metal club, a hockey stick, a shovel, a cricket bat and a knife in Shrewsbury, western England. The West Mercia Police later arrested the four men, BBC reported.

The four men, Arshdeep Singh and Jagdeep Singh from Dudley, and Shivdeep Singh and Manjot Singh from Smethwick, will all serve at least 28 years in prison.

A fifth man, Sukhmandeep Singh from Peterborough, believed to be an “insider” who sent information to the four men about Aurman Singh’s deliveries on the day he was killed, was handed a 10-year prison term for manslaughter.

Earlier during the trial, the police said no evidence came out that would explain the motive behind such a brutal attack on Aurman Singh.

“I am pleased that significant sentences have been handed to these men for the brutal murder of Aurman Singh. These five men are dangerous individuals who will now serve a considerable sentence in prison where they cannot cause further harm to the wider public,” said Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Mark Bellamy of West Mercia Police, who led the murder investigation.

“Aurman’s family have understandably been left shattered when he was tragically killed in a planned and brutal attack in Shrewsbury, and my thoughts and condolences remain with them,” he said.

“Today’s sentence should send a strong message to those who think they can come into our towns and cities to commit violent crime that we will not stop in our efforts to find them and put them before the courts,” he added.

Kristina Montgomery KC, a judge at Stafford Crown Court, called the attack “a horrifying brutality” and “a very public execution”, while adding that Aurman Singh was left to die at the side of the road, BBC reported.

The development came after the five men were convicted last month by the same court following the end of a six-week trial.

According to prosecutors, Aurman Singh was slashed in the head with an axe three times, fracturing his skull with one blow penetrating his brain. He was also struck on the head with the golf club with such force that its head broke off, and the shaft was bent, BBC reported.

The driver was also attacked with a hockey stick and a wooden stave. He was stabbed in the back with such brute force that it cut through one of his ribs. He died on the spot.

In a statement, Aurman Singh’s family said they had no words to explain the impact of the tragedy in their lives.

“Today a mother will grow old without her son. A sister will grow up without her brother. We don’t want what has happened to us to happen to another family,” the statement, issued through the police, said.

“It is an unbearable loss for us which has changed our lives. My daughter and myself will be living our lives for the sake of it but our happiness and the will to live is not there,” it added.

“We would like to thank the police for conducting their investigation diligently and supporting us through this tough time,” the statement further said.

(with inputs from PTI)