A builder who was arrested in connection with the killing of three men following a deadly knife fight on the streets of east London will not face any murder or manslaughter charges as the incident was deemed to be an act self-defence.
Gurjeet Singh, 29, had been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in connection with the killing of Narinder Singh Lubhaya, 29, Harinder Kumar, 30, and Malkit Singh Dhillon a.k.a. Baljinder Singh, 37, back in January.
The three murdered men, originally from Punjab, were found to have set upon Gurjeet Singh at Seven Kings in Redbridge, London and were killed in the ensuing street fight.
“Gurjeet Singh was arrested on January 20 on suspicion of murder. He was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and was remanded in custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where he pleaded not guilty,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
“He appeared for trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, August 19 charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. Following trial, the jury found him not guilty,” the statement said.
According to a source quoted by The Times, CCTV footage of the incident showed Singh fighting off the men as they attacked him.
The newspaper quoted the source as saying that Singh “went all Bruce Lee” as he defended himself.
The court was also told that the men attacked Singh over an "outstanding debt" related to a business deal gone wrong. The night before the attack, there was a community event to celebrate the birth of a baby where there was a disagreement between the men.
On the night of the attack, the men lay in wait for Singh with weapons as he left the local gurdwara. Three of the four male assailants were later found in pools of blood.
Singh suffered a number of wounds fending off the four armed assailants, including a 5-cm cut to the left side of the head, a cut to the forehead and to the back of his head and what the court was told was “a crush injury” to the top of his head thought to have been sustained from a hammer. He also sustained a wound to his hand.
One of the four, Sandeep Singh, a 29-year-old unskilled labourer from Romford in east London, was arrested and jailed for four years in August for wounding with intent.
He was found to have overstayed his visa and will be deported back to India after his sentence. His brother, Harpreet, 27, the appointed getaway driver on the night, was also found to be in the UK illegally and will be sent back to India after a 12-month jail sentence for the same offence.
The horrific attack had sent shockwaves around the community and led London Mayor Sadiq Khan to demand more government funding to tackle knife crime in the city during a visit to the scene of the stabbings in January.
"The horrific triple stabbing in Seven Kings in Redbridge last night is a tragic reminder of the evil scourge of knife crime that continues to plague our entire country,” he said at the time.
