LONDON: A Pakistan-born man has admitted to killing an Indian restaurant manager when he was cycling home on Valentine’s Day in the UK.
Vignesh Pattabi-Raman, an Indian citizen from IOB Colony near Marudhamalai, Coimbatore, died aged 36 in hospital after being hit by a car just before Feb 14 midnight. It was his penultimate day working at Vel South Indian restaurant in Reading before starting a new job at the Hyatt Regency London.Raman had moved to UK from India with his wife, Ramya, in Dec 2022.
Shazeb Khalid (25) was charged with Raman’s murder on Feb 20. He appeared at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, alongside Soiheem Hussain (27), also charged with Raman’s murder, and Khalid’s then girlfriend Mya Reilly, charged with assisting Khalid and destroying evidence.
Khalid admitted manslaughter on April 25 but denied murder. On Tuesday he told the jury he unlawfully killed Raman butdid not intend to kill him, just to “scare him”.
Khalid said his friend Hussain rang him on Feb 10 or 11 offering him a “job” — namely to “scare” Raman in order to stop him snitching on the Vel restaurant owners to the home office for employing illegal immigrants. The fee for the “job” was £2,000. Vel restaurant in Brighton had been fined £30,000 for employing illegal staff and the Reading branch had also been visited by immigration officials.
On Feb 13 Khalid bought a stolen red Range Rover off Snapchat for £500.
Khalid admitted he did not have a driving licence or insurance and that his driving was “not that good”. He said he used to drive when on holiday in Pakistan but did not have a licence there either and “you didn’t need insurance”. He had arrived in UK in 2007 aged eight by himself to join his father, then 53, who had lived in the UK 50 years. His mother remained in Pakistan and he often went back to see her.
Khalid said he didn’t know who ordered the job but either the Vel manager or owner wanted the person who was giving information “scared”. “Hussain told me don’t physically harm him but be threatening and scary. I agreed as it was a simple thing to do.”
On Feb 14 he texted Reilly: “I got a mission later.”
Khalid followed Raman on his bike after he finished work at 11.30pm, often driving dangerously close, beforecrashing into a tree. He said he was unaware he had hit Raman on his bike. He got out and saw Raman lying on the ground “badly hurt” in a pool of blood. Panicked, he got back in the car and drove off, afraid that if he stayed he “would be in a lot of trouble”.
A witness told the court he saw a man get out of the crashed car and strike something forcefully on the ground. Khalid denies assaulting Raman on the ground. “I was responsible for Raman’s death but had no intention of killing him,” he said. The trial continues.
Vignesh Pattabi-Raman, an Indian citizen from IOB Colony near Marudhamalai, Coimbatore, died aged 36 in hospital after being hit by a car just before Feb 14 midnight. It was his penultimate day working at Vel South Indian restaurant in Reading before starting a new job at the Hyatt Regency London.Raman had moved to UK from India with his wife, Ramya, in Dec 2022.
Shazeb Khalid (25) was charged with Raman’s murder on Feb 20. He appeared at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, alongside Soiheem Hussain (27), also charged with Raman’s murder, and Khalid’s then girlfriend Mya Reilly, charged with assisting Khalid and destroying evidence.
Khalid admitted manslaughter on April 25 but denied murder. On Tuesday he told the jury he unlawfully killed Raman butdid not intend to kill him, just to “scare him”.
Khalid said his friend Hussain rang him on Feb 10 or 11 offering him a “job” — namely to “scare” Raman in order to stop him snitching on the Vel restaurant owners to the home office for employing illegal immigrants. The fee for the “job” was £2,000. Vel restaurant in Brighton had been fined £30,000 for employing illegal staff and the Reading branch had also been visited by immigration officials.
On Feb 13 Khalid bought a stolen red Range Rover off Snapchat for £500.
Khalid admitted he did not have a driving licence or insurance and that his driving was “not that good”. He said he used to drive when on holiday in Pakistan but did not have a licence there either and “you didn’t need insurance”. He had arrived in UK in 2007 aged eight by himself to join his father, then 53, who had lived in the UK 50 years. His mother remained in Pakistan and he often went back to see her.
Khalid said he didn’t know who ordered the job but either the Vel manager or owner wanted the person who was giving information “scared”. “Hussain told me don’t physically harm him but be threatening and scary. I agreed as it was a simple thing to do.”
On Feb 14 he texted Reilly: “I got a mission later.”
Khalid followed Raman on his bike after he finished work at 11.30pm, often driving dangerously close, beforecrashing into a tree. He said he was unaware he had hit Raman on his bike. He got out and saw Raman lying on the ground “badly hurt” in a pool of blood. Panicked, he got back in the car and drove off, afraid that if he stayed he “would be in a lot of trouble”.
A witness told the court he saw a man get out of the crashed car and strike something forcefully on the ground. Khalid denies assaulting Raman on the ground. “I was responsible for Raman’s death but had no intention of killing him,” he said. The trial continues.