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They concocted a huge web of lies, hoping their tales of deception would set them free. But jurors rejected their claims of innocence, convicting them of their crime after listening to hours of evidence.
Now four murderers face life behind bars after being found guilty of killing DPD worker Aurman Singh. The mob of assailants stormed Berwick Avenue, in Shrewsbury, before violently lashing out at their 23-year-old victim during the daytime ordeal.
They brazenly wielded a haul of weapons, including a 3.5-lb axe, golf club, wooden stave, metal bar, hockey stick, shovel, knife and cricket bat. Despite police linking the killers to the heartless crime, they continued to claim they had been wrongly accused and played no part in the deadly attack.
READ MORE: How terrified neighbours who saw DPD worker hacked to death fled with children inside their homes
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A fifth man was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. He was not part of the brutal armed gang who unleashed their wicked violence – instead, he provided information on Aurman’s location from the DPD depot where they both worked.
Prosecutors say four men – Harpreet Singh, Mehakdeep Singh, Harwinder Singh Turna and Sehajpal Singh – are still wanted in connection with the case. They are said to have been taken to and from the scene in a Mercedes before fleeing the Midlands.
The four murderers – all born in Punjab, India – decided to give evidence at Stafford Crown Court, taking to the witness box with Punjabi interpreters to plead their innocence. Arshdeep Singh was the first killer to speak out, confessing he had not been entirely truthful with police when quizzed about Aurman’s death.
He said he only ‘lied a little bit’ because others had ‘threatened’ him, claiming he twisted the truth ‘out of fear’ harm would come to him or his family in India. But he insisted he did not know Aurman, from Smethwick, and had never met him before laying eyes on him in the street where he died.
When asked how he felt about being arrested, Parcelforce worker Arshdeep told the trial: “I was shocked and really scared.” Recalling the day of Aurman’s murder, Arshdeep said the group was planning to eat out to celebrate wanted man Sehajpal’s birthday.
They headed out in two cars – Arshdeep travelling in an Audi with accomplices Jagdeep Singh, Shivdeep Singh and Manjot Singh, while the four wanted men were in the Mercedes. Despite plans for a celebratory meal that afternoon, he said he had ‘no idea’ why the four wanted men went inside a Morrisons Daily to buy what he believed was food.
(Image: SWNS)
Empty sandwich packets later discovered by police in the Audi had not been from that day, Arshdeep insisted. Footage recorded all eight men ‘standing together’ for ‘several minutes’ in the store’s car park before leaving the scene.
Arshdeep said they spoke about ‘nothing in particular’ but it had been mentioned that Sehajpal and Mehakdeep wanted to ‘see somebody and then go out for a meal’. Sehajpal had said it was regarding ‘something personal to him’, Arshdeep recalled.
Both cars later arrived in Berwick Avenue, with Arshdeep claiming he did not know why he was in Shrewsbury. He noticed Aurman sitting in his DPD van while Mehakdeep brandished a hockey stick and Harwinder held a machete in the street.
A call lasting 34 minutes took place between phones belonging to Arshdeep and Mehakdeep, ending at 12.58pm. Both phones made another call, lasting eight minutes and ending at 1.06pm.
The DPD van was captured arriving in Berwick Avenue at 1.03pm. Arshdeep said there had been a ‘normal conversation’ about where the group would be going to eat before a ‘lengthy conversation’ about car insurance – denying any talks of ‘attacking anybody’.
Arshdeep described how he got out of the Audi as he thought there was a ‘commotion’ – he had seen ‘fighting’ and heard ‘foul language’. He took a golf club with him ‘for his own safety’ but claimed he did not use it to hit Aurman, who he said was already on the ground bleeding.
Arshdeep said he put a handkerchief over his face so he would not be recognised. He chucked the golf club before returning to the Audi, where there was talk of what had happened ‘was wrong’, adding: “We had been brought there by deception.”
Mehakdeep spoke to him moments after the murder, telling him in an ‘angry manner’ that he was not to ‘mention any names’. Arshdeep said he was not aware of how badly injured Aurman was and ‘did not notice’ that some of the victim’s blood had ended up on his trainers.
Footage captured Arshdeep dumping the axe in a wheelie bin in Amphlett Croft, Tipton, after the Audi left the murder scene. It was Jagdeep’s idea to ditch the axe but he was ‘scared’ so Arshdeep did it instead.
Arshdeep said: “He told me “you put it there” and I did it. I was scared as well. I was aware that I had not used the axe and I had not played any role in [the attack] – that’s why I agreed to put it there.”
Arshdeep also claimed he had not requested a photograph of a DPD van to be sent to his phone on WhatsApp by co-defendant Sukhmandeep Singh on the morning of Aurman’s death. Instead, he claimed Sehajpal wanted it.
Jagdeep Singh told jurors that wanted man Sehajpal had mentioned going to Shrewsbury for a ‘party’ on the day of Aurman’s murder. There had been a conversation outside the Morrisons about Sehajpal having ‘friends’ in Shrewsbury who needed to be collected by the group.
There was ‘no mention’ of a delivery van and he did not suspect ‘trouble might be coming’. When he spotted the DPD van in Berwick Avenue, Jagdeep said he thought the delivery workers were ‘friends’ of the group who may have lived in the area.
The 23-year-old got out of the Audi with his hood up to ‘stretch’ after the car pulled up behind the DPD van, with the Mercedes behind the Audi. Aurman’s colleague, who was delivering a parcel at a customer’s doorstep, then spotted Jagdeep and rushed from the scene but the defendant said he had done nothing to ‘frighten’ him.
He claimed he heard ‘shouting’ and spotted the men from the Mercedes attacking Aurman. Jagdeep said: “I saw Sehajpal, I recognised him because he had not covered his face. [I saw] three other people who travelled with him in the Mercedes.
“The victim was on the floor and they were beating him.” Jagdeep told jurors he was aware an axe had been in the Audi during the trip to Shrewsbury but insisted he had not removed it from the vehicle.
He said: “I started swearing at them. [I said] “f*** off, what are you doing? Why are you fighting?”.” Co-defendants Arshdeep and Manjot ‘tried to stop’ Sehajpal but Sehajpal continued to attack Aurman, Jagdeep claimed.
He continued: “I swore at Sehajpal once again. He came straight towards me, trying to attack me with the axe. I ducked, going to one side.” Jagdeep claimed Sehajpal ‘lost his grip’, with the axe falling to the floor.
The defendant then decided to pick up the axe and go back to the Audi with it. Jagdeep added: “I wanted to take the axe before Sehajpal picked it up because I thought he might attack me. I’m not that close with him anyway.”
It was only after the Audi had left the street and ‘travelled some distance’ that he noticed the blood on the axe – which he did not wipe clean. Confirming he did record a video featuring a blood-stained axe moments after Aurman’s death, Jagdeep said he only did it after being left ‘scared’ by Sehajpal.
He denied ‘boasting or gloating’ in the video and insisted he did not ‘join in’ with the killing or ‘encourage’ others to attack Aurman. Jagdeep – whose hoodie was discovered by police wrapped around the axe – also said he did not ‘put pressure’ on Arshdeep to dispose of the weapon.
Manjot Singh was the third defendant to give evidence, telling jurors he was actually ‘trying to save’ the injured DPD worker. He said he wanted to ‘stop’ Aurman from being attacked and only got out of an Audi parked at the scene to help him.
Manjot – who worked at DPD’s Kidderminster depot but had never had dealings with its Stoke base – insisted he did not know Aurman and never wielded a wooden stave at the scene. Manjot was sitting in the Audi when he se spotted Aurman getting out of the DPD van from the passenger seat.
Aurman began ‘swearing’ before he ‘ran instantly’ as the men from the Mercedes started ‘chasing him with weapons’. The defendant said: “I was confused, I was scared and I did not know what had happened all of a sudden. I got out [of the car]. I thought “let’s see what has happened, let’s try to stop it”.”
Manjot claimed he pulled a ‘small turban’ that had been on his head down to his face because he did not ‘want to get identified’. He said he wanted to ‘stop or separate’ the attackers, adding: “One person was being beaten up and there were four or five people beating him up.
“I shouted a little bit and said “leave the lad, it’s not a big deal or a big matter”.” Manjot claimed he was told by Turna: “You don’t get involved, it’s got nothing to do with you, [it’s] none of your business”.”
Manjot said he tried to ‘grab’ a wooden stave allegedly wielded by Harpreet as he ‘hit’ Aurman. But it ‘slipped’ and hurt Manjot’s fingers, leaving him bleeding.
Manjot said he had ‘no clue’ why Arshdeep sent a photograph of the DPD van to him hours before the killing. Giving evidence, defendant Shivdeep Singh said he was told by Arshdeep to ‘follow the DPD van’ and to park behind it in Berwick Avenue.
He said he had no knowledge of any plan to attack Aurman, explaining that he was only acting as a driver as requested. The 27-year-old confirmed he did not exit the Audi during the murder, adding: “They said to me that they wanted to see somebody, they had the intention to have a party and they needed to be dropped off there.”
Shivdeep said he was ‘not even aware’ police were pursuing the Audi he had been driving after it left Berwick Avenue, denying he was trying to flee from officers. So-called ‘inside man’ Sukhmandeep Singh told Stafford Crown Court he only handed over information about Aurman because he was threatened by others.
He was told that he and his new bride would die if he did not offer up details about the target’s whereabouts. The 25-year-old confirmed he accessed DPD’s Universe system and handed over delivery route information – a move the prosecution say enabled perpetrators to ‘track down’ Aurman on the day he died.
Sukhmandeep said he initially said he could not access the information they wanted but was left feeling ‘helpless’ and gave in to their demands after receiving continued threats. Describing how he feared there would be ‘trouble’ for him, he said: “I’m a person that never gets involved in any type of issues, any type of violence.
“That’s why I just tried to save myself.” He told jurors he was ‘acquaintances’ with Aurman and had ‘no disagreements’ with him.
Sukhmandeep claimed both Arshdeep and Mehakdeep demanded to know where Aurman was before threatening to kill him. Arshdeep had also demanded a picture of the DPD van and said “I know where you and your wife live”.
He did not think that Aurman was in danger, instead telling jurors he thought it was over ‘personal problems’ which he did not want to get in between of. Jurors returned these verdicts on Thursday, March 28:
- Arshdeep Singh, 24, of Shaw Road, Tipton, was unanimously convicted of murder
- Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Goodrich Mews, Dudley, was unanimously convicted of murder
- Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick, was unanimously convicted of murder
- Manjot Singh, 24, of Greenfield Road, Smethwick, was unanimously convicted of murder
- Sukhmandeep Singh, 25, Greenfield Road, Smethwick, was acquitted of murder but unanimously convicted of manslaughter
All defendants were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on a date to be set.
