Kabaddi tournament violence was behind fatal DPD worker ambush in Shrewsbury, court heard

Sehajpal Singh, 26, and Mehakdeep Singh, 24, both previously of Shaw Road in Tipton, are on trial at Stafford Crown Court, accused of the murder of Aurman Singh.

Both men deny the charges.

Aurman Singh, a 23-year-old DPD worker, was killed when he was ambushed by a group of men on the quiet Shrewsbury residential street, Berwick Avenue, on August 21, 2023.

He had been attacked by a gang of men brandishing an arsenal of weapons, including an axe, a spade, a hockey stick, and a metal bar.

The group of eight people had travelled from Tipton to Shrewsbury in two cars - a white Mercedes and a grey Audi.

Last year, four men - Arshdeep Singh, 24, of Shaw Road, Tipton; Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Goodrich Mews, Dudley; Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick; and Manjot Singh, 24, of the same address - were all convicted of the murder of Aurman Singh.

A fifth defendant, DPD worker Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, from Paynels, in Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, was convicted of manslaughter after a jury heard he had acted as an 'inside man' passing information on to the gang.

The defence in the latest trial has opened with evidence from Sehajpal, who lived at the time with both his co-defendant Mehakdeep Singh and Arshdeep Singh, who was jailed last year.

Sehajpal told the court that on August 20, the day before the ambush, he had attended a kabaddi tournament in Derby with friends - including others who were ultimately involved in the attack on Aurman.

Asked by his barrister, Phil Bradley KC, if there had been 'trouble' at the tournament, Sehajpal said "yes", but that he had not been involved.

The defendant said at one point the group of people he was with had been abused by another group who approached them with their faces covered.

Asked what he did, Sehajpal replied that he and others had jumped over a fence and run away, having 'panicked'.

The group made their way to a pub but the defendant said that two of his friends - including a man called Malkeet Singh - were missing - with them later finding out he had been injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

The court was told that Sehajpal and a number of others, including Arshdeep, had visited hospitals in Derby and Nottingham to check on his friend late on the evening of August 20.

Malkeet was being treated at the Nottingham hospital for injuries sustained in the violence at the event.

The trial was earlier told that Arshdeep had sent one of Sehajpal's phone numbers to Sukhmandeep Singh at 2.24am on August 21.