British-Sikh couple killed by son in 2020 could have been saved: Report
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Feb, 2023 11:52 AM
London, Feb 3 (IANS) A Sikh couple murdered by their "knife-obsessed" son in the UK in 2020 could have been saved if the agencies involved with the family before the crime had rightfully addressed their concerns, a homicide review report said.
Anmol Chana, then 25, stabbed his mother Jasbir Kaur, 52, and step father Rupinder Bassan, 51, more than 20 times at their home in Oldbury, West Midlands, in February 2020.
He was sentenced to life in prison at the Birmingham Crown Court, with a minimum of 36 years in jail.
The report, published this month by the Safer Sandwell Partnership, revealed how Chana had been a "constant threat" to his mother and had made a number of "threats to kill", the Birmingham Live reported.
The family had been "seeking support" and "felt in danger" but their concerns "went unaddressed".
Jasbir Kaur was accused of poor parenting and "labelled weak" despite making several cries for help about her violent and dangerous son.
The report said: "The review recognised significant victim blaming by professionals in their response. Far from being 'weak' (a term used repeatedly to describe her parenting) she had shown incredible strength."
It further said that Chana was "obsessed" with weapons and had warned he would kill his mother.
From an early age, he was potentially twisted and dangerous, and talked about his "interest in death, hurting people or animals", the report noted.
He been known to social services, GPs and mental health teams since childhood over his weird and violent behaviour.
"It is clear from the report that, over many years of agencies' involvement with the perpetrator, more could have been done to address his violent behaviour and poor mental health, while also providing better support to his mother and sister who lived with ongoing fear and anxiety about what he would do next," Chief Superintendent Maria Fox, chair of the Safer Sandwell Partnership, was quoted as saying in Birmingham Live.
After killing his parents, Chana stole money from the house and bought a ticket to flee the country, but was nabbed by the police.
He had claimed before the Birmingham Crown Court that he killed his parents in self-defence but his story was dismissed as "fantasy" by the prosecutors, and jurors concluded he was lying.
Local Sikh volunteers of United Sikhs have setup a camp to move flood-affected families to safe areas and provide them with food, water, and other immediate supplies under the leadership of the organisation's representative in Pakistan, Herdyal Singh.
Ever since the family was informed about the alleged murder of Ashutosh, they have been seeking help from the Central and the state governments. Dwivedi was pursuing a medical degree in an Armenia based medical college. A family member told IANS that Dwivedi had gone to Armenia in 2020 and he was a fourth year medical student.
Gorbachev, who during his seven years in power made dramatic reforms that paved the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, died Tuesday at a Moscow hospital at 91.
Sikhs and Hindus make up only a tiny fraction of the population of Afghanistan, which is almost entirely Muslim. Under the Taliban in the late 1990s, they were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands or badges, reminiscent of Nazi Germany, and in recent years they have been repeatedly targeted by extremists.
In the week from August 15-21, there were 21 per cent fewer cases than in the previous week, dpa news agency quoted the global health body as saying in a statement issued on Thursday. In the previous four weeks, the numbers had been rising.
As heavy rain has lashed parts of the US, a search is underway for an Indian-American woman who went missing during a flash flood in Utah's Zion National Park. On Monday, park spokesman Jonathan Shafer said that the search for Jetal Agnihotri, 29, who was swept away by a flash flood on August 19, has been extended.
