Indian-origin man stabbed to death in London

AN INDIAN-ORIGIN man has been stabbed to death in London, just two days after incidents of knife attacks in the UK which saw the deaths of a British Indian teen and a student from Hyderabad.

Aravind Sasikumar, 38, was found with knife injuries on June 16 after officers were called to a residential property on Southampton Way, Camberwell, the Metropolitan Police said.

He died at the scene at 1.31 am on Friday (16), the police said in a statement.

On Saturday (17), Salman Salim, 25 of Southampton Way, was charged with murder, they said.

He appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court on the same day and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on June 20.

Scotland Yard informed Sasikumar's family of the incident, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

A post-mortem examination carried out on Friday confirmed Sasikumar died as a result of stab wounds to the chest, the report added.

A police spokesman said, “On arrival, officers located a man, aged in his 30s, suffering from stab injuries. Despite treatment from medical professionals, the man sadly died at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said, “We sent numerous resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, medics in two fast response cars, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched a trauma team from London's Air Ambulance, which consisted of a paramedic and a doctor in a car. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Harriet Harman, the MP for Camberwell and Peckham, described the death as a “horrific murder” and passed on her sympathy to the bereaved family.

Friday's incident adds to the recent string of knife attacks across the UK, which saw the deaths of British Indian teen Grace O'Malley Kumar, 19 and 27-year-old Tejaswini Kontham from Hyderabad in two separate incidents.

On June 14, Kontham was stabbed to death at a residential property in Neeld Crescent, Wembley in north London. Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder.

In a separate incident on the same day, Kumar was killed in a knife attack as she walked back from a night out with fellow cricket-loving friend Barnaby Webber, 19.

(PTI)