A Range Rover driver has been handed a minimum 21-year jail sentence for killing a cyclist in the midst of a restaurant immigration investigation.
Shazeb Khalid, 25, wrongly assumed that Vignesh Pattabi Raman, whom he described as “kind” and “gentle,” was involved in prompting a probe into whether a restaurant was hiring illegal immigrants. Khalid was convicted last month for the murder of Mr. Pattabi Raman, 36, whom he struck down at 11.50 pm on Addington Road, Reading, on February 14.
Using a stolen Range Rover as a weapon, Khalid callously left Mr. Pattabi Raman to suffer after the collision, fully aware that he had hit him. Tragically, Mr. Pattabi Raman succumbed to a head injury at the Royal Berkshire Hospital shortly after the incident. Khalid was arrested on February 19 and charged the following day.
In a subsequent trial, Khalid, who had no fixed abode, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years at Reading Crown Court. Another individual, Soiheem Hussian, 27, of Rossby, Shinfield, received a four-year prison sentence after being found guilty of assisting an offender. Mya Reilly, 20, of Chiltern Gardens, Woodcote, was acquitted of similar charges.
According to police statements, the heartbreaking episode left Mr. Pattabi Raman’s wife shattered and his loved ones devastated. Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Brangwin, from the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, expressed satisfaction with Khalid’s lengthy sentence, emphasizing the heinous nature of his actions.
Describing Mr. Pattabi Raman as a gentle soul who had moved to the UK with dreams of a brighter future for himself and his wife, Brangwin highlighted the devastating impact of his senseless killing. He concluded with hopes that the sentences given would offer some solace to Mr. Pattabi Raman’s grieving family.