Sikh found guilty of murdering father of four in UK

London, Jan 22

Two men, including a 25-year-old Sikh, have been convicted of murdering a father of four children in a drive-by shooting in England last year, police said.

Gurdeep Sandhu of Blowers Green Road and Hassan Tasleem of Richmond Road in Dudley shot taxi firm manager Mohammed Haroon Zeb, 39, in the head just after 12.30 a.m. on January, 31, 2021.

Haroon had just pulled up outside his home and he sadly died in hospital from his injuries later that day, the West Midlands police said in a statement.

Sandhu and Tasleem were convicted of murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and perverting the course of justice following a three-month trial at Loughborough Crown Court.

A third man, Shamraz Ali of Tanfield Road; Dudley, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

All three have been remanded into custody and will be sentenced at a later date, the statement read.

The killing was part of an ongoing feud between families dating back to 2018.

Haroon was not believed to have been actively involved in the feud, but a follower of what was going on.

The reason he was specifically targeted remains unknown, the police statement read.

Police said that the fatal blow came from a lethal revolver -- and was one of a number of shots fired by a passenger of a Volkswagen Golf -- which then drove off.

The weapon is yet to be recovered.

"Our detectives carried out extensive enquiries in the pursuit of justice and our evidence was that the gun was in the hands of Tasleem while Sandhu was the driver of the car and involved in the plot," the West Midlands police said.

According to the police, the vehicle was on false plates and went off the radar until it was later recovered in Telford.

Police said that they viewed "thousands of hours of CCTV, used forensics, scoured social media and phone records to connect Tasleem and Sandhu to the planned killing".

"For nearly two years, we as a family have struggled to accept the loss of our Haroon. We thank the police for their tireless work," the victim's family members said after the court verdict.

Detective Superintendent Jim Munro, who led the murder investigation, said: "This was a carefully planned killing, and children have lost their father forever. Nothing can ever take away that pain.

"We can only hope these convictions will take some dangerous men off the streets and the ongoing police work will bring an end to such violence. We're grateful to the Dudley community who supported us during this investigation."

--IANS