London: In a shocking incident, a 66-year-old Indian-origin woman was stabbed to death by a 22-year-old man at a bus stop in northwest London last week. The accused was charged with the murder of Anita Mukhey, a grandmother working part-time at the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and was sent to custody at a hearing on Tuesday.
Mukhey worked as a medical secretary at the NHS and was waiting at the Burnt Oak Broadway bus stop in the Edgware area of London last week when the accused Jalal Debella allegedly stabbed her in the chest and neck. According to reports, people on the spot screamed and shouted at the suspect to stop as the daylight attack sent shockwaves across the community.
"Police were called at around 11:50hrs on Thursday, 9 May, to reports of a stabbing in Burnt Oak Broadway," the London Metropolitan Police said. "Officers, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London's Air Ambulance (HEMS) all attended the scene, where a 66-year-old woman was treated for knife wounds. Sadly, despite the best efforts of emergency services, she died at the scene. Her family have been informed."
Debella was arrested on suspicion of murder in the Colindale area of north London later on May 9 and charged with Anita Mukhey's murder and also for possession of an offensive weapon. He appeared at the Old Bailey Court in London and will enter his plea of guilty or not guilty at the next hearing in the case scheduled for August.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court that a preliminary cause of death was found to be sharp force injuries to the front of the chest and neck. "Anita Mukhey, 66 years old, was a married mother and grandmother devoted to her family, who also worked part-time in the NHS as a Medical Secretary. The family ask for privacy at this difficult time," Anita Mukhey's family said in a statement issued via the police.
Indian gang convicted for murder
In an unrelated incident, a gang of Indian-origin men in their twenties were sentenced to a total of 122 years in prison last month after they were found guilty of murdering a 23-year-old delivery driver, also of Indian heritage. The driver was identified as Aurman Singh, who succumbed to an attack in the Berwick Avenue area of Shrewsbury, western England, in August last year.
Arshdeep Singh, 24, Jagdeep Singh, 23, Shivdeep Singh, 27, and Manjot Singh, 24, were arrested by the local West Garcia police and found guilty of murder with weapons including an axe, hockey stick and shovel. They were each sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 28 years behind bars. A fifth Indian-origin man, Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, believed to be the “inside man” who sent information about Aurman’s deliveries, received a 10-year sentence for manslaughter.
Judge Kristina Montgomery, who presided over the sentencing of the perpetrators at the Stafford Crown Court, described the case as a "very public execution" in which Aurman had been left to die at the side of the road. The five men were convicted last month at the end of a six-week trial at the same court. Montgomery also told the court that Aurman's murder had been an "act of horrifying brutality", reported The Mirror.
(with PTI inputs)
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