|
Two students who took part in the killing in February last year of an Indian diplomat, Mr. Ravindra Mhatre, were convicted of murder at Birmingham Crown Court. Mohammed Riaz, aged 23, a student, of Jarrom Street, Leicester, and Abdul Raja, aged 21, a student, of rue de la Butte, Blauchet, Paris, both Kashmiris, were convicted on a majority verdict of eleven to one. They were remanded in custody for sentencing with four others who have admitted taking part in the kidnapping plot. The court heard how Mr. Mhatre, the assistant commissioner at the Indian High Commission in Birmingham, was kidnapped as he returned to his home in Bartley Green, on the outskirts of city. He was held prisoner in Birmingham for three days before being driven to a lane in Leicestershire, where he was shot three times at point-blank range. Mr. Igor Judge, QC, for the prosecution, said: «This happened to a man with no known enemies. It happened to a man who had never caused offence to the defendants or any of those involved in the problems thousands of miles away».
(The Times) |