Two men accused of murder walk free

Two men accused of murdering a restaurant manager almost 25 years ago have walked free from court.

Jaspal Singh and Balwant Singh had been accused of fatally stabbing Ansar Shah in Ayr on 4 October, 1993.

But the charge against them was withdrawn yesterday by prosecutor Richard Goddard. Their former co-accused, Jagtar Singh, 51, denies murdering Mr Shah, 38, and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Earlier the trial heard that Mr Shah was stabbed three times – twice in the heart and once in the lung.

The High Court in Glasgow has been told there was fighting in the car park of the Armaan Restaurant after midnight. It involved members of staff from the restaurant and others including Jagtar Singh, who is known as Tony.

Singh, of Slough, Berkshire, has lodged a special defence of self defence.

The jury has heard that a cold case investigation into the alleged murder was launched in January 2015.

Eventually Singh was traced to France and detained in Frankfurt Airport, in November 2017. He was arrested and charged with murder when the plane landed at Glasgow Airport.

The trial continues.