Latest news with #AurmanSingh
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
The outbreak of violence at Kabaddi tournament that sparked cartel-style execution of DPD driver - and how 'honour' could have been to blame
Firing guns and hacking at each other with machetes, axes and bats in front of terrified families, it's hard to imagine an outbreak of violence more brutal or brazen. But just a day later this brawl would spark something far worse - the 'cartel-style' execution of a DPD driver as he went about his daily rounds. The shocking fight at a Kabaddi tournament in Alvaston, Derby, on August 20, 2023 was compared to a 'medieval' battle by a judge, who jailed seven of the men responsible to nearly 40 years in jail. This week the killing was featured on a BBC documentary murder 24/7. The judge said there had been a 'conspiracy of silence' over the cause of the violence, although he read a statement from one of the men involved which stated: 'All I know is that it involved honour from one of the parties, I did not question it, it was justified.' But whatever the cause of the incident, it would lead - on August 21, 2023 - to the savage murder of Aurman Singh, 23, who was hacked to death by seven men who were armed with an axe, a hockey stick, a knife, a golf club and a shovel. He was attacked with such ferocity that his left ear was severed and his skull had cracked open and part of his brain left exposed. A trial heard he was attacked by a gang of seven men who had planned the attack following the incident a day earlier. Kabaddi is a contact sport that originated in India and involves two teams of seven players attempting to 'raid' each other's half. Mehakdeep Singh, 24, and Sehajpal Singh, 26, both of Tipton, West Midlands, were found guilty of murder following a three-week trial at Stafford Crown Court. Five other members of the group had already been convicted and jailed. Aurman was attacked in daylight as he made a delivery in Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, after the gang used 'inside' information to uncover the victim's delivery route and hunt him out. The group stalked his van in a white Mercedes Benz and grey Audi before ambushing the unsuspecting 23-year-old in the middle of the street. His injuries were so severe that there was no chance of him surviving and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspects fled in their cars before dumping weapons, including a hockey stick and shovel, in nearby Hubert Way. The police investigation into Aurman's murder was filmed for a BBC documentary, Murder 24/7, which aired this week. It showed footage of officers discussing the Kabaddi attack and linking it to his death. As MailOnline previously revealed, the incident came at the end of months of simmering hostilities between groups of young men of Indian heritage that had on several occasions exploded into violence. One linked event was a 'crazy fight' at a music event in a park a mile from Aurman's home a month before he died. Aurman, born in Italy but understood to have been of Indian Sikh heritage, lived in a mid-terraced home with his 46-year-old mother and younger sister in Smethwick, West Midlands. He attended the Sandwell and Birmingham Mela, a two-day festival promoting Punjabi culture, which took place between July 22 and 23, 2023 in Victoria Park in Smethwick. A former neighbour told MailOnline how Aurman had allegedly been caught up in trouble at the Kabaddi event. He said: 'I heard he had been involved in an altercation at the festival shortly before he was killed. 'I don't know in what capacity, he may have just been present, but I was told there was a big fight between one group and another. 'A few friends of mine who went to the Mela told me that there had been this 'crazy fight' and people had been moved away from the area by security. 'The kid I was talking to gestured over to Aurman's house and said 'your neighbour was involved, did you know that?'. 'I had no idea but didn't know what to think. He seemed to me to be a quiet man, but a good neighbour. Not someone who would cause any problems. 'I saw Aurman parking his DPD delivery van the day after I was told he was involved in the fight. I didn't know him well so I never asked him about it. I didn't have that sort of relationship with him. 'But a few weeks after being told that information about him I found out that he was the delivery driver killed on his round over in Shrewsbury. 'Reading the details of what happened to him, the fact his killers ambushed him and with such ferocity, makes it look like some sort of revenge attack.' Derbyshire Police did not have Aurman marked down as a suspect in any fighting but even so his killers are understood to have picked him out from footage, which was uploaded onto social media within hours. The following morning Aurman got up for work and drove 45-miles north from his home to his DPD depot in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. As normal he loaded his van with packages and then started out on his round. But unbeknownst to him a colleague at the depot - Sukhmandeep Singh, 24 - had passed on details of his delivery route to his killers. Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh drove to Shrewsbury from their homes in Tipton, West Midlands, in a white Mercedes Benz. With them were Harpreet Singh and Harwinder Singh Turna, both of whom remain at large. Four other men - Arshdeep Singh, 24, Jagdeep Singh, 23, Shivdeep Singh, 27, and Manjot Singh, 24 – followed in a grey Audi. They carefully tailed Aurman through the historic Shropshire county town to a quiet suburban area in Coton Hill, where he pulled up just before 1pm and got out of his van to start unloading the packages. The Mercedes parked up behind and Harwinder was the first out, charging at Aurman and his startled colleague with a metal bar. The colleague ran off in terror and Harwinder hurled the bar at Aurman as he too tried to flee, the impact of which caused him to lose balance and tumble to the floor. Circling around him – several clutching weapons – they moved in on their hapless victim, chopping him with an axe, stabbing him and beating him mercilessly with a hockey stick, shovel and golf club. The attackers left him in a bloodied heap in a side-road. Residents who found him called an ambulance but his injuries were too severe and he died at the scene. Both the Mercedes and Audi drove off at speed. During his trial at Stafford Crown Court, Sehajpal said an argument broke out during their getaway between his co-defendant Mehakdeep and Harwinder about the metal bar being thrown and his fingerprints being on it. The suspects later abandoned their cars and dumped their weapons. Sehajpal and Mehakdeep then booked a cab to Shrewsbury rail station, where they met some of the others who had travelled there by bus. They travelled as a group to Wolverhampton. When asked what the atmosphere was like during the journey, Sehajpal said: 'It was stressed. We were also panicking. 'There was not much talking between us.' Sehajpal told jurors Mehakdeep booked an Uber to a friend's flat in High Street, Tipton, for the both of them. He recalled how he was at the flat when he discovered Aurman had died, adding: 'My friend was using his mobile phone and then he saw a DPD driver was dead in Shrewsbury. 'Then it came to my mind that it was the same case. 'It was shocking and stressful because I thought, at the time when I was in Shrewsbury, I thought that Aurman had some serious injuries but when I got the news that he had died, it was shocking. 'It was terrible news.' The court heard how Harwinder boarded a flight to Delhi, India, on August 22 and has since disappeared. Harpreet is said to have withdrawn cash from various cashpoints before the trail to catch him likewise went cold. Sehajpal and Mehakdeep, meanwhile, lay low for a couple of weeks before booking flights to Austria, where they were both arrested last May. Footage released by West Mercia Police shows the moment they were caught during a sting by armed cops in the Austrian village of Hohenzell, about 44 miles north-east of Salzburg and 146 miles west of the capital of Vienna. The pair denied Aurman's murder but were found guilty by a jury on Tuesday. Their convictions follow that of Arshdeep Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Shivdeep Singh, and Manjot Singh, who were each jailed for 28 years for murder in April 2024. Their inside man, Sukhmandeep Singh, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 10 years.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: You have to admire the understaffed police solving this brutal gang killing
Two days into a murder investigation, DCI Mark Bellamy wasn't mincing his words: 'Looking around this room, there ain't enough staff, not for what we've got on. Far from it.' The head of Operation Columbia, the hunt for seven men suspected of the gang-related killing of a 23-year-old delivery worker, Bellamy could call on 45 detectives and forensics specialists. But the sheer speed and scale of the investigation left his team stretched thin. And this wasn't the Met, with immense reserves of manpower and equipment available if required. This was a police station in Shrewsbury, a medieval market town where even muggings are rare — though the local paper, the Shropshire Star, reports they've been having a nasty spate of bicycle thefts recently. Aurman Singh was in a DPD van delivering parcels to a quiet residential street when he was set upon by youths lying in wait. Footage from video doorbells captured the gang piling back into their two cars, some still brandishing weapons. The murder itself occured out of sight of the cameras, but statements from shocked witnesses left us in no doubt of the ferocity of the attack. Mr Singh suffered multiple stabbing and chopping wounds, including catastrophic head injuries from an axe and a golf club. Murder 24/7, a gripping six-part serial filmed by a camera crew shadowing the West Mercia Police force, followed the investigation from the moment a horrified onlooker called 999. One of the cars was found abandoned. The other was spotted an hour away in the West Midlands and, after a tense pursuit involving a helicopter and a dog unit, four suspects were arrested. All of them, like the victim, were named Singh. The police were efficient, calm and so evidently competent from the start that there was little doubt the other assailants would be tracked down. But as the backdrop to the crime was revealed, DCI Bellamy's fears about understaffing proved well-founded. Punjabi interpreters had to be called in before the men could be questioned. That gives suspects an advantage, fretted one detective: 'Sometimes they can understand some English, then they get it clarified through the interpreter. There's no rhythm to it, so you're not going in with quick questions. You're not making them think on their feet.' A possible motive began to emerge — vengeance following an outbreak of violence at a kabaddi match in Derby the previous day. Kabaddi, apparently, is a sort of touch-rugby, popular in India. The difficulties confronting this provincial police force were staggering: a bloodthirsty feud spilling over from a city 70 miles away, beginning with a game whose roots are 7,000 miles away, involving suspects who either can't or won't speak English. The documentary, which continues tonight, leaves me full of admiration for the Shrewsbury murder squad. But it's impossible to know how a town that struggles to prevent cycle thefts is supposed to cope with violence of this kind.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Murder 24/7 review – it feels so iffy watching brutal hour-by-hour death
In August 2023, delivery driver Aurman Singh was viciously attacked and killed by a group of eight men in Shrewsbury, suffering a traumatic head injury that led to his death. He had been struck with weapons including a golf club and an axe, before his mask-wearing assailants fled in two cars. One eyewitness – whose doorbell camera footage is analysed by police – says Singh's eyes were 'fixed open … it was like someone just pressed stop'. Singh's killing – dubbed 'The DPD Murder' by the programme-makers – was unusually callous and brutal, making for what lead investigator DCI Mark Bellamy describes as a 'beast of a job'. It also makes for compelling television, although you may well wonder whether you should be watching it all, in such harsh detail. As its title suggests, Murder 24/7 is wall-to-wall, hour-by-hour death, its six episodes a sobering experience, during which – in spite of the care it affords its cases – you can't help but feel voyeuristic. The first series – broadcast in 2020 – followed Essex police. This time we're embedded with West Mercia law enforcement, as they investigate cases including Singh's murder, which unfolds over two and a half episodes of this six-part series. By the end of the first, there are four men in custody, but only one – Arshdeep Singh (no relation to the deceased) – gives an account of the events leading up to Aurman's death. There is, of course, footage of their respective police questionings. But, the real selling point is that we also see DS Alex Sullivan – an interview specialist – watching remotely, working out what and when to tell the suspects. In this case, that means figuring out when to tell Arshdeep that they've got him bang to rights, as they have a video of him disposing of one of the murder weapons in a wheelie bin. The work that Bellamy and his 45-strong team do is long, painful, and clearly takes a toll (his face in particular is fixed in a permanent frown, and I am happy to learn online that he has since retired from the force). But it is also necessary; in episode two (which airs tomorrow, followed by episode three on Wednesday), a discovery by a member of the public, coupled with that relentless policing, leads to a big breakthrough in the Aurman Singh case. Still, it's wearying work: looking into Arshdeep's phone records alone leads to 141,000 pages of calls and messages (a decision is quickly made to just home in on messages from the days leading up to the attack). On the phone of another suspect, more critical evidence is found (or as one officer puts it: 'Jagdeep's in a bit of bother there, in't he?') However, while investigating murders is clearly an onerous job, I'm not sure we ever move past the surface of the investigations. Despite dedicating two-and-a-half hours to the Aurman Singh case, we don't ever get a sense of his killers' motivations; nor do we get a portrait of Aurman, the 23-year-old at the centre of it all. It's easy to call crime documentaries voyeuristic, but when you have such a strong sense of how somebody was killed – complete with 3D reconstructions of where the various murder weapons struck their skull – but no idea who they were, it's difficult to ignore. It's a criticism you can level at other cases in the series, too, such as that of an elderly man, Ivan, suspected of trying to kill himself and his son after his wife's death. We see the emotional price paid by Ivan, and by DC Tracy Ruff, who treats his case with rigour but also compassion. But we don't get a picture of the other two people involved: Ivan's wife, Maureen, or his son, Gavin. Keeping them off-camera makes sense: Maureen is dead, and Gavin is severely disabled and – we later learn – now in the care of social services. But, with that in mind, is this a story we need to bear witness to at all? Meanwhile, watching The Killer Son – about a man who killed his mother during a psychotic episode – may feel to many like gawking at a totally abject situation. The episodes that focus on a domestic abuser, Damian Homer, feel more complete. There, we hear from his former partner, Stacey Hill, and the focus shifts to the insidious nature of intimate partner violence – which ran concurrent to Stacey and Damian's happy faces on social media, and which led to the death of Stacey's mother, Wendy. But, too often, Murder 24/7 attempts to go deep only to end up somewhere shallow. We certainly see how well West Mercia police do their jobs. But, without more of the why, cases such as The Killer Son – or indeed The DPD Murder – feel like true-crime cliche. Murder 24/7 aired on BBC Two and is on iPlayer now.
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Who are Mehakdeep & Sehajpal Singh and how long were they jailed for murdering DPD driver Aurman Singh?
A DPD driver was ambushed while doing his rounds and brutally murdered by a gang armed with blades and blunt objects. Here we take a look at two of the people convicted of the cowardly crime — Mehakdeep and Sehajpal Singh. 7 7 Who are Mehakdeep and Sehajpal Singh? Mehakdeep Singh, aged 24, and Sehajpal Singh, aged 26, are both from Tipton in the West Midlands. They were part of a gang that carried out a "meticulously planned" and savage murder of DPD delivery driver Aurman Singh in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on 21 August 2023. The attack was far from random — evidence presented at their trial showed that the group used inside information from a contact at DPD to learn Aurman's delivery route. On the day of the murder, they lay in wait for him on Berwick Avenue, Coton Hill, as he made deliveries. When Aurman arrived, the group ambushed him with an arsenal of weapons. Mehakdeep Singh wielded a hockey stick, while Sehajpal Singh used a shovel during the horrific assault. 'Calculated & brutal' The attack was described by police as "calculated and brutal" — with the clear intention to kill. Detective Sergeant Mat Crisp from West Mercia Police's Major Investigation Unit said: 'It was not a robbery that went wrong, it was planned and Aurman was their sole target. 'Following an incident the previous day that involved Aurman, the group used a contact to access inside information from his employer to learn Aurman's delivery route before lying in wait for him on a quiet Shropshire street. 'The group used an arsenal of weapons against Aurman, who was defenceless. 'There is no doubt in my mind what their intention was, and that was to kill him.' "Exactly a year ago [on April 11, 2024] five men were sentenced to a combined total of 122 years for their part in Aurman's death, and today I am pleased a further two men have been given a 28-year prison sentence for their role in this senseless killing. There are no words that could ever explain the impact this tragedy has had on me and my family Family statement Aurman, aged 23 and from Smethwick, was pronounced dead at the scene. After the murder, Mehakdeep and Sehajpal Singh fled in a white Mercedes, which was later found abandoned in Shrewsbury. They ordered a taxi to Shrewsbury railway station, took a train to Wolverhampton, then left the UK. Traced and arrested Following an international manhunt, Mehakdeep and Sehajpal Singh were traced and arrested in Hohenzell, Austria, on 20 May 2024. On 31 March 2025, after a three-week trial at Stafford Crown Court, both Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh were unanimously found guilty of murder by a jury. On April 11, 2025, they were each sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 28 years before being considered for parole. The judge described the murder as "meticulously planned and executed," emphasising that Aurman Singh was "completely unaware" and "defenceless" when attacked. The police highlighted the use of inside information and the deliberate nature of the killing, stating there was "no doubt" the intention was to kill. Aurman's family released a moving tribute after his death: "There are no words that could ever explain the impact this tragedy has had on me and my family. "Today a mother will grow old without her son. 7 "A sister will grow up without her brother. "We don't want what has happened to us to happen to another family. "We would like to thank the police for conducting their investigation diligently and supporting us through this tough time." Residents told of their horror after witnessing the aftermath of the brutal attack. Back in August 2023, one told MailOnline: 'I saw four men, carrying a variety of weapons, jump into the Audi and two others get into the front of a white Mercedes. 7 'None of them looked as though they had stolen anything. "They didn't seem to be carrying any parcels from the van. "They just had weapons which looked to be a machete, baseball bat and what appeared to be some sort of shovel. 'The cars did a three-wheel turn and they sped off. "One of the men shouted something before they escaped but I couldn't hear what they said." 7 Motive The motive for the murder of Aurman Singh remains somewhat unclear. Prosecutors told the court that the exact reason behind the murder could never be definitively established. However, evidence presented during the trial suggested that the killing followed an incident at a kabaddi tournament in Derbyshire the day before the ambush. It was suggested in court that the murder was an act of revenge for what happened at the tournament, but this was never confirmed Mehakdeep and Sehajpal Singh were not the only ones convicted in connection with this murder. Five other men had already been jailed for their roles, including four who received 28-year sentences for murder, plus the "inside man" from DPD who received 10 years for manslaughter. These previously convicted men are: BBC2's Murder 24/7 is airing an episode exploring the murder of Aurman Singh on Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9pm.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Murder 24/7 series throws spotlight on West Mercia Police investigations
An investigation into the horrific killing of a 23-year-old delivery driver is to be examined in a BBC television series. A string of men used an arsenal of weapons to beat Aurman Singh to death after being tracked during his round in Shrewsbury in 24/7, to be broadcast on BBC Two, follows the twists and turns, dead ends and breakthroughs of West Mercia Police murder investigations in Shropshire and Herefordshire in real production team had been filming with the force for the past two years, said Colin Barr, creative director of Expectation TV, which makes the show. He said the investigation into Mr Singh's murder had been "fast moving" and the evidence gathering operation had been "extremely detailed"."We capture that whole process using multiple cameras following different professionals in the team as they do their job," he explained. "And you never know where those threads are going to go so the whole thing is unpredictable and fast paced."A total of seven men have been convicted in connection with Mr Singh's murder. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said the series offered a "powerful and unfiltered look at the extraordinary teamwork and compassion shown by our officers and staff in the most heartbreaking of circumstances". "These are not just investigations - they are stories of real people, real loss, and the pursuit of justice," he new series Murder 24/7 starts on BBC Two at 21:00 BST on Monday 16 June with some episodes also available on BBC iPlayer. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
