Man held on suspicion of ordering teen’s death goes on run
ABUSINESSMAN who allegedly ordered a “hit” which killed a Cardiff teenager has gone on the run in India after fleeing police custody.
Mohammed Ali Ege, 41, allegedly ordered two hitmen to kill a rival in a feud over money – but the pair got the wrong house and killed a 17-year-old.
Ben Hope and Jason Richards were jailed for life for stabbing A-level student Aamir Siddiqi as he opened his front door to them in Cardiff.
But Ege, who allegedly ordered the mistaken-identity murder in 2010, travelled to India after the killing and was arrested a year later.
He has since been in custody awaiting extradition – until he escaped from police after they took him to a court hearing.
Reports in India say Ege told police he needed to use a toilet at a train station and then escaped by jumping out of the window.
Commander Mahendra Kumar Rathod said: “After the court proceedings, the accused was being brought back to Hyderabad by a train.
“The escort team reached the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station to board a train to Hyderabad and were waiting at the Government Railway Police room.
“The accused requested the police to allow him to go to the washroom, and he escaped from there by removing the window grilles of the washroom.”
Ege’s escape means Aamir’s family are still waiting for justice for their son’s murder seven years later.
A spokesman for South Wales Police said they couldn’t comment on Ege’s escape from custody.
However, the spokesman did say: “Officers are obviously continuing to engage with the authorities in relation to the ongoing extradition proceedings and will continue to liaise with Aamir Siddiqi’s family, providing them with any relevant information as it becomes available.”
Cardiff Crown Court heard heroin addicts Hope, 43, and Richards, 42, were paid £1,000 each to kill a different man on a nearby street in Roath.
But the “staggeringly incompetent” pair went to the wrong house and knifed Aamir to death as he opened the door thinking it was his Koran teacher.
They also stabbed Aamir’s parents as his mother and father battled to save their young son.
Hope and Richards were jailed for life, with a minimum of 40 years each, after being found guilty of murder and attempted murder.
The judge Mr Justice Royce called them “staggeringly incompetent”.
He told them: “Aamir was awaiting the arrival of his Koran teacher when he rushed past his parents to open the door.
“You two came in, wearing balaclavas and making a terrible wailing sound.”
Mr Justice Royce added: “Your attack on him was brutal, savage, callous and cruel.”
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they have had no dealings with Ege’s planned extradition.