UK Says Three Men Killed In London Stabbing Incident Were Indians

London Jan 25: The Scotland Yard on Friday formally identified the three men killed in a stabbing incident in east London last week as Indian nationals who were living in the area.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Command said the men killed were 29-year-old Narinder Singh Lubhaya, 30-year-old Harinder Kumar and 37-year-old Malkit Singh Dhillon alias Baljinder Singh. 

They were found with stab wounds by emergency services and pronounced dead at the scene in Seven Kings area of Redbridge in Ilford last Sunday.
The Indian High Commission in London said it will provide the victims’ families “every assistance” in relation to the repatriation of their bodies to India.

“All the three men were living in the Ilford area and were Indian nationals. Their next of kin have all been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers,” the Met Police said.

The force said 29-year-old Gurjeet Singh, arrested in connection with the case, has been remanded in custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 19 February after being charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place this week.

While he remains under investigation in connection with the murders, a second man arrested as part of the murder investigation has since been eliminated from police enquiries.

“I know that people were present when the attack occurred, I urge them to come forward. This is a dreadful incident that has shocked the local community. I need their help to piece together exactly what happened and the events that led up to it,” said Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine, who is leading the investigation.

The Met Police has reiterated that they do not believe the fatal incident was gang-related as their enquiries around the motive behind the killings remain ongoing.

“Officers at this stage are not seeking to make any further arrests for murder,” the police said.

Earlier, it had been indicated that the three men may have been killed as a result of an “ongoing dispute” involving the local Sikh and Hindu communities.

All the men involved worked as local builders in the area and the dispute is feared to have escalated over the issue of non-payment for some building work.

The incident sent shockwaves across the city, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan visiting the site and calling for more government resources to tackle knife crime on the streets of London.

Jas Athwal, the British Sikh leader of the local Redbridge Council of the area, stressed that the “isolated incident” must not tarnish the reputation of an otherwise peaceful community.

“The Redbridge community coming together to remember the deceased and pray for a better tomorrow, hoping for an end to the violence that has cut short too many lives too many times,” he said, following a vigil in the area earlier this week.

Community groups have also spoken out against some of the coverage of the fatal incident in the UK press.

“From what we know it was a personal fight that got out of hand. We would urge the media not to sensationalise it as any gang or drugs related matter,” said a spokesperson for the Singh Sabha London East, which led an ardaas (prayer) in memory of the deceased during the vigil.