UK court finds Pakistan man guilty of killing Tamil restaurant manager for contract fee of £2,000
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Sep 13, 2024, 12:22 PM ISTIn a chilling turn of events, Shazeb Khalid, a 25-year-old Pakistan-born man, has been convicted of the gruesome murder of Vignesh Pattabiraman, a 36-year-old Tamil restaurant manager, in Reading, UK. The crime unfolded on Valentine’s Day this year.
In a chilling turn of events, Shazeb Khalid, a 25-year-old Pakistan-born man, has been convicted of the gruesome murder of Vignesh Pattabiraman, a 36-year-old Tamil restaurant manager, in Reading, UK. The crime unfolded on Valentine’s Day this year.
The jury at Reading Crown Court reached a verdict on Wednesday, finding Khalid culpable for deliberately running down Pattabiraman with a stolen red Range Rover, motivated by a ‘contract fee’ of £2,000. The victim succumbed to his injuries at Royal Berkshire Hospital in the early hours of February 15. Post-mortem revealed fatal head injuries as the cause of death.
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Pattabiraman, originally from IOB Colony near Marudamalai in Coimbatore, had relocated to the UK with his wife, Ramya, in December 2022. Having recently resigned from his role at the South Indian restaurant Vel, he was poised to commence a new position at the prestigious Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill just two days later. Tragically, he was struck and killed by the stolen vehicle.
The prosecution laid bare a sinister plot involving Mohammed Sadiq Ishmail, the operation manager at Vel, who allegedly enlisted Soiheem Hussain, his associate, to intimidate Pattabiraman. Ishmail harbored suspicions that Pattabiraman was alerting authorities about illegal staff employment at the restaurant. Hussain, in turn, recruited Khalid to carry out the violent act. Witnesses recounted seeing Khalid emerge from the wrecked car and assault Pattabiraman with a series of brutal strikes.
Further revelations included Khalid’s theft of money from Pattabiraman’s rucksack following the murder. Vel restaurant in Brighton was fined £20,000 in December 2022 for employing two illegal workers, and a subsequent raid on Vel Reading in August 2023 yielded no additional action.
In his defense, Khalid, who immigrated to the UK from Pakistan in 2007, claimed his actions were unintentional, asserting he merely meant to "scare him" and "maybe grab him and tell him to stop snitching." He denied any assault or theft. Hussain, aged 27, refuted allegations of hiring Khalid to inflict severe harm, resulting in his acquittal on the murder charge but conviction for assisting an offender. Both Khalid and Hussain are scheduled for sentencing on October 10.
Mya Reilly, Khalid’s pregnant partner, was acquitted of charges related to perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender, highlighting a dramatic courtroom conclusion to this harrowing case.
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