Scotland Yard on Tuesday named the victim of a fatal stabbing in the London suburb of Pinner on Sunday as newsagent Ravi Katharkamar, as concern grows over the increasing number of stabbing incidents in the capital in recent weeks.
Katharkamar, 54, was stabbed to death at 6am on Sunday, when he opened his shop. A passerby found him collapsed inside the shop suffering from stab injuries. The London Ambulance Service pronounced him dead at the scene. No one has been arrested so far.
Detective chief inspector Simon Stancombe said, “This was a vicious and unwarranted attack on a completely innocent man. Ravi’s attacker got away with a few pounds worth of coins, but he leaves behind a family utterly devastated and a close-knit community asking who could do such a thing.
“Help me catch the man who did this. The attacker fled with the shop till. Have you found this discarded or seen someone in possession of a shop till who wouldn’t normally have one? Do you know someone trying to use lots of loose change since yesterday morning?”
Shop landlord Kirit Dodiya paid tributes to Katharkamar, telling the media, “He was a top guy. I would see him inside the shop. We manage other shops on the road. I spoke to him a few times and he was a gentleman. It was such a shock for me personally, I spoke to him on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Shop landlord Kirit Dodiya paid tributes to Katharkamar, telling the media, “He was a top guy. I would see him inside the shop. We manage other shops on the road. I spoke to him a few times and he was a gentleman. It was such a shock for me personally, I spoke to him on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}“He was always smiling, always. You would walk into the shop and he would offer you something always. We want to give a tribute ourselves and send flowers.”
Katharkamar was reportedly a regular visitor to the Watford Velmurugan temple in north London.
Home secretary Sajid Javid has sought increased funding for the police to deal with the growing incidents of knife crime in London and other parts of the UK