Murder accused visited casinos with alleged victim ‘all the time’

A chef accused of murdering a restaurateur almost 40 years ago would visit an Aberdeen casino with his alleged victim “all the time”, a court has heard.

Riasat Khan,63, used to visit a gaming house in the city with Kazi Ahmad in the months before the businessman’s body was found in a nearby property in October 1978.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday how waiter Syed Munjibur Rahman told police last year that the pair would visit the casino after shifts at the Raj Dulal Restaurant.

Mr Rahman said that Mr Ahmad “felt comfortable” at having Mr Khan by his side.

Thecourtheardthatthiswas because Mr Ahmad carried “large amounts of money”.

Mr Rahman, 55, agreed with a suggestion made by defence lawyer Gary Allan QC that there was a friendship between the two men.

Mr Allan then asked Mr Rahman: “They would go to the casino all the time together?” Mr Rahman replied: “Yes.” Mr Rahman, of Inverness, was giving evidence on the seconddayofproceedingsagainst Mr Khan, who denies theft and murdering Mr Ahmad.

Mr Khan, of Clare Gardens, Cardiff, has lodged a special defence, claiming that he acted in self defence at the time of the alleged murder.

The defence states that the accused had acted in self defence because the deceased had first attacked him.

Mr Rahman told the court that Mr Ahmad was one of four partners who had a controlling stake in the Raj Dulal restaurant.

He said that Mr Ahmad liked to gamble in his spare time and would sometimes share his winnings with staff members.

Mr Rahman, who now owns his own restaurant, said that on one occasion Mr Ahmad gave him a £100 note after he had won a bet.

The trial continues.