LONDON: A 14-year-old boy was charged Thursday with murdering 80-year-old British Indian Bhim Kohli after investigators found evidence of his alleged involvement in the fatal assault on the victim last weekend while he was out walking his dog in a Leicester park.
Kohli, a grandfather of two with roots in Punjab, owned a factory making jumpers. He died in hospital of a neck injury a day after the assault.
Dressed in a black jumper and tracksuit bottoms, the teenage suspect spoke to confirm his name, age, and address when he was produced in the Leicester youth and crown courts. He was remanded in youth detention till the next hearing, scheduled for Oct 11.
Three girls, one of them 14 and the other two 12, and a boy of the same age as the latter had also been arrested Tuesday on suspicion of their involvement in the crime. They were released the next day with no indication of further police action.
Kohli and his dog, Rocky, were in the park near his family home of 40 years when his daughter Susan heard a commotion and stepped out to find her father lying grievously wounded under a tree.
The dog did not come to harm, police told TOI.
In a statement, Kohli's family said their "hearts have been completely broken" by the tragedy. "He has always been a very hardworking man, and even at the age of 80, was still very active," they said.
One of his great passions was his three “allotments” or plots in a community garden where vegetables or flowers can be grown. The family said he would go every day to tend to these plots, often with Rocky keeping him company.
Neighbours said gangs of youth had been seen loitering and terrorising residents, some wearing balaclavas. Kohli had rocks thrown at him and been spat at before. He reported some of these to police earlier.