NINJA SWORDS THAT KILLED RONAN MUST BE PART OF NEW BAN
Mum’s plea to stop blood on streets
Ministers have a duty to stop them getting in the wrong hands ALEX NORRIS SHADOW POLICING SECRETARY
THE mum of a teenager who was stabbed to death with a ninja sword has launched a new campaign to have the weapons banned.
Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was murdered in June 2022, also wants a clampdown on websites selling them.
The aspiring lawyer, 16, was listening to music while walking home from a friend’s house when he was stabbed twice from behind. CCTV footage of the seconds leading up to the stabbing in Wolverhampton shocked the nation.
Ronan’s killers, both 16, mistook the Liverpool fan for another teen they were in dispute with.
One of them had collected the 20in sword that day after buying it online using his mum’s ID.
Ronan had just finished his GCSEs. The sword pierced his heart and he died near his home.
Legislation banning the sale of zombie knives is due to come into force in the autumn.
But it does not ban the sale of swords and other dangerous weapons.
Pooja, 46, wants parents to write to their MPs, urging them to back a wider ban which includes swords.
She “cannot understand” why ministers still allow the sale of lethal blades. Pooja is backed by Keir Starmer, whose party will today demand that tech firms face criminal prosecution if they sell illegal weapons online.
Labour is also pushing for the proposed ban to include ninja swords.
Pooja said: “These weapons have no purpose other than to threaten, harm or kill. A 20in ninja sword, purchased online and collected by a 16-year-old, was used to murder my son. This same sword is not included in the Government’s ban and can still be sold. “The ban must include swords, online sales must be addressed and ID checks for home deliveries and collection points must be enforced. “Keir has supported our call. Why haven’t the Government?” Labour pledges to hold a review of online knife sales and boosting ID checks. Shadow Policing Minister Alex Norris said: “The Government has a duty to do everything it can to stop these dangerous weapons getting into the hands of teenagers.” More than 10,000 people have signed Pooja’s open letter to Rishi Sunak supporting a ban. Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, now both 17, were jailed for life for Ronan’s murder.