Two youths convicted of Afghan Sikh teen's 'cold-blooded' murder in UK

London, March 7

Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old Afghan Sikh refugee in London who they mistakenly thought belonged to a rival gang, according to Scotland Yard.

Vanushan Balakrishnan and Ilyas Suleiman, both 18, were convicted for the murder of Rishmeet Singh “in cold blood” on Monday following a trial at the Old Bailey court in London.

The duo will be sentenced at the same court next month. “Rishmeet was an innocent, young 16-year-old who had his whole life ahead of him.

He had just spent an enjoyable evening with his friends and was making the short walk home when he was callously chased down and knifed to death by Balakrishnan and Suleiman,” said Detective Inspector Laura Semple, from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command. The police said that between them, the two teens stabbed Singh 15 times while he was “defenceless on the floor”. “There is never an excuse to murder someone in cold blood, but this case is made even more tragic by the fact that Rishmeet was wrongly targeted by his attackers. Balakrishnan and Suleiman left the flat that day with the intention of ending someone’s life,” said Semple.

“Poor Rishmeet was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. My thoughts are with his family and friends, who have shown extraordinary courage throughout, including during the trial where they were forced to re-live his horrific last moments,” she added.