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Southall-based Indian-origin man gets life term for murder
A Southall-based Indian-origin man, who murdered a father-of-three in a revenge attack in January, was sentenced by the high court to life imprisonment on Thursday.
A Southall-based Indian-origin man, who murdered a father-of-three in a revenge attack in January, was sentenced by the high court to life imprisonment on Thursday.
Sanjay Salhorta, 26, was found guilty of murdering Harinder Rattan on July 31 and was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 26 and half years in jail.
The court was told that that the murder was the outcome of an incident, which took place on December past year. Rattan was stuck in the face by a man in his car who ran off after the victim retaliated by hitting him over the head with a crowbar.
The 41-year-old died of multiple stab wounds in Southall on 4 January.
The police said Rattan was left lying on the road, with Salhotra initially hiding in a nearby alleyway and then going to his friend Inderjit Bhachu's house.
The duo then drove to Staines where they set Salhotra's clothes on fire. The police searched the alleyway and found the knife - which had been cleaned- and a pair of latex gloves with Harinder Rattan's DNA on them.
Salhotra was arrested on January 5 while Bhachu was nabbed the following day.
Bhachu, 28, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment after he had previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Detective chief inspector Simon Ashwin said, "Harinder Rattan was subjected to a brutal attack for nothing other than for Salhotra to save face. Bhachu assisted in the disposing of evidence".
"I am pleased that Salhotra and Bachu now face a considerable prison sentences; I hope that this brings some sense of justice to Harinder Rattan's family," he added.
