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Sikh killed while pursuing
muggers hailed as ‘hero’ in U.K.
WSN Network
 LONDON: A Sikh
worker who was stabbed to death by two muggers in
East London
last Friday while trying to retrieve a handbag they had snatched
from a woman has been hailed as a “hero” by the police and his
neighbours.
Sukhwinder
Singh, 31, who lived in Britain for 10 years and worked as a
builder, was planning to return to India to rejoin his family. He
had told friends that he missed his wife and child, whom he had not
seen for long.
He was killed
when he chased two men who attacked a 28-year-old woman near the
Barking railway station and escaped with her bag.
In an
altercation that followed, the men stabbed him. He was taken to
hospital where he was declared dead.
The police were
looking for two “dark skinned” youths, possibly of African or
Afro-Caribbean origin. Nirmal Singh Gill, a local councillor,
described Sukhwinder, also known as ‘Bittu,’ as a “special young
man” who was always willing to help others.
"He was a very
nice young man. He used to go the Gurdwara every evening and was
always helping. He was a smart guy who didn't drink at all and was a
very clean-living person. He would help anybody so it doesn't
surprise me that he was trying to help a lady.
"He didn't
deserve this – nobody deserves it – but he was a special young man.
He was very well known in the Sikh community and everyone is very
shocked. It's a very big loss to everyone, both here and in
India."
Mohammad Jubran,
a neighbour, said: “It’s terrible. I’ve been living here for 16
years, and it’s the first time that I have heard that someone has
been murdered. It was a brave thing he did.”
A senior police
officer said that what Sukhwinder did was “very brave.”
Detective
Inspector John Sandlin said: "This is a tragic death of a man who
was killed for attempting to stop others committing crime, and our
thoughts are with Sukhwinder's family. However, I would also to
reassure the wider community that tragic events such as these are
very rare.
"What Mr Singh
did was obviously very brave but I would not encourage that members
of the public do that. What I would encourage the public to do is
contact us immediately."
East London
remains a "hotspot" for knife crime, with weapon carrying a problem,
particularly among gang members. Days before Christmas an
18-year-old was found lying in a Bow street after being attacked
with a knife. Salum Kombo died after suffering multiple stab wounds
in an attack just yards from his home.
13
January 2010
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