British-Indian found guilty of killing father with champagne bottle
Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Jan, 2023 12:40 PM
London, Jan 30 (IANS) A British-Indian man has been found guilty of bludgeoning his father to death with a champagne bottle in a drunken rage two years ago.
Deekan Singh Vig, 54, murdered his 86-year-old father Arjan Singh Vig on the evening of October 30, 2021 at their family home in Southgate, north London.
Police had found Deekan naked and surrounded by about 100 bottles of champagne, including a blood-stained Veuve Clicquot and Bollinger, The Independent reported.
He reportedly told the police: "I killed my dad. I hit him over the head with a f*****g bloody bottle of Bollinger champagne."
The father's body was found on the floor of Deekan's bedroom with the "head caved in", the Old Bailey court heard.
Vig admitted manslaughter but was found guilty of murder after a jury deliberated for less than a day, the report said.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC, told the court that the victim was hit repeatedly in the face and head with a full bottle of champagne causing extensive injuries and almost immediate death.
A post-mortem examination identified injuries "entirely consistent with an assault with a full champagne bottle", Heer told the court.
Deekan, who helped his father in the family business, had developed a taste for alcohol during the Covid lockdown.
Police uncovered 100 bottles of champagne, 10 Amazon delivery boxes of whisky bottles, and an empty bottle of Talisker Scotch on the bed at the crime scene.
Deekan, who had moved to Britain from Uganda along with his family, claimed he had autism and that his father had attacked him.
He also admitted to drinking 500 ml of whisky a few hours before the murder.
Judge Angela Rafferty on Friday adjourned Deekan's sentencing until February 10 and remanded him into custody.
The victim, Pinal Patel, was pronounced dead at the hospital. His wife and daughter, who were also shot in the incident, were said to be in stable condition. The police have issued a picture of the getaway car used by the killers - three masked men - and a driver. There is no word yet on their motivation and they had apparently not taken anything from the family.
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The court heard that on September 7 last year, Singh smashed a window in De Montfort House, Leicester city centre, with a hockey stick after getting a warning note on his car asking him not to park in the wrong spot.
