Two teenagers Vanushan Balakrishnan and Ilyas Suleiman, both 18, have been jailed for murdering a 16-year-old Sikh boy Rishmeet Singh in 2021, police said.
The duo had mistakenly thought that the victim belonged to a rival gang in West London, cops added.
Balakrishnan and Suleiman, both from Hillingdon, were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for stabbing Rishmeet Singh to death.
Balakrishnan was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 24 years, and Suleiman was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 21 years, the Met Police added.
Later Rishmeet’s mother released a statement and said, “Justice is finally served for Rishmeet, but their sentence will never be enough for me. They have taken my whole life away from me, and Rishmeet will never come home again.”
Earlier, the court had found the two teenagers guilty of murder.
The court heard that on the night of November 24, 2021, Rishmeet was walking home when he saw two unidentified men running towards him. He ran down Raleigh Road in Southall where he tripped and fell, according to a Metropolitan Police release. One of his pursuers then stabbed him at least five times in the back, and the second one stabbed him at least 10 times.
His attackers then fled, leaving his bloodied and injured body on the ground, the Met Police said, adding that the whole attack lasted 27 seconds. Officers and the London Ambulance Service scrambled to the scene after receiving a 999 call from a member of the public, but despite their best efforts, Rishmeet died at the scene.
{{/usCountry}}His attackers then fled, leaving his bloodied and injured body on the ground, the Met Police said, adding that the whole attack lasted 27 seconds. Officers and the London Ambulance Service scrambled to the scene after receiving a 999 call from a member of the public, but despite their best efforts, Rishmeet died at the scene.
{{/usCountry}}Inquiries revealed that Balakrishnan and Suleiman dumped their bikes near the bridge and chased after Rishmeet on foot, with Balakrishnan attacking him first followed by Suleiman.
“Rishmeet was an innocent, young 16-year-old who had his whole life ahead of him. He had just spent an enjoyable evening with his friends and was making the short walk home when he was callously chased down and knifed to death by Balakrishnan and Suleiman,” said detective inspector Laura Semple, from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime command.
During the trial, it emerged that Rishmeet came to the UK in October 2019 with his mother and grandmother to seek asylum from Jalalabad in Afghanistan. His father was killed by the Taliban six months prior to that, and shortly after they tried to kidnap Rishmeet – forcing the family to flee to the UK.
In a statement, Rishmeet’s mother Gulinder, said: “Rishmeet was my only child, and he had his whole life ahead of him. No words could ever explain or put into context how I have felt since Rishmeet was taken from us. I feel I have lost everything and my life is over.”