Murderer built new life in France before finally being traced
BY WILMA RILEY stabbed Mr Shah three times in the left chest. You inflicted wounds which he could not have survived.”
The court earlier heard that a fight broke out involving staff at Armaan, where Ansar was the restaurant manager, and the killer, his brother Jaspal Singh, 54, from Slough, Berkshire, and their friend Balwant Singh, 59, from Dalmellington, Ayrshire.
There was bad blood between the groups because the Armaan workers suspected that Jaspal Singh had reported one of them to immigration authorities.
In evidence, Tony Singh claimed he had been stabbed first in the stomach by Ansar. He said: “It was no revenge. It is my religion if someone attacks you, you attack them.”
Within hours of the murder, Singh was on a bus to London. He was later smuggled into France, where he built a new life.
The father of four was finally traced after a cold case team were assigned in 2016 to re-investigate the murder.
Detective Inspector Mark Henderson, senior investigating officer, said: “We hope that after almost 25 years of anguish and suffering, the Shah family, who have always acted with dignity, are able to take some comfort from the fact that the man responsible is now behind bars.”
Dad-of-three Ansar’s youngest daughter was born a month after his death.