Bhim Kohli death: Police 'sat on information' before dog walker, 80, fatally attacked

BBC News

2 days ago

Police "sat on information" that could have prevented a fatal attack on an elderly man due to shift patterns and a bank holiday, his daughter has said.Bhim Kohli, 80, was punched and kicked by a 14-year-old boy while a girl, 12, filmed the attack in September - two weeks after he had witnessed another Asian man being racially abused and assaulted by two other boys nearby.Now a report - given to Susan Kohli - shows police knew the identities of the pair involved in the previous assault days after it happened, but did not arrest them until after her father's death. Leicestershire Police said it had identified "organisational learning" for logging anti-social behaviour.
Warning: This article contains racially-offensive languageMs Kohli believes her father "would still be here" had police acted sooner over the previous attack, which occurred on 17 August 2024 near Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire - about two weeks before Mr Kohli's death following the assault at the same park.She has questioned the delay between identifying the perpetrators and arresting them three days after her father's killing.Ms Kohli has called on the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), to review the investigation again.She said: "You [the police] sat on it for over two weeks and didn't do anything - it could have sent a message around to the estate."When you have either police presence or you take action or have firm words with children that are from the estate, from the same school, word gets around. "Word would have got around to say, 'you know what? We might need to be cautious about being around this area'."Mr Kohli had been walking his dog Rocky when he was attacked on 1 September. He died the day after he was subjected to the "seven-and-a-half minute period of continuing aggression", for which the boy and girl, now aged 15 and 13 respectively, were both convicted of manslaughter.The boy was sentenced to seven years in custody, while the girl was given a youth rehabilitation order of three years and made subject to a six-month curfew.
Meanwhile, the victim of the 17 August 2024 attack was targeted by two white boys, aged 12 and 13, who threw a large rock at him yards from Mr Kohli's house.The pair - who were not involved in Mr Kohli's death - spat at the man, repeatedly threw stones at him, taunted him and shouted at him to "go back to your village".Near the end of footage, filmed by Ms Kohli, one of the boys can be heard using a four-word racial slur and telling the man his dad is a "curry muncher".Ms Kohli, her father and others intervened in the unprovoked attack on the man - who wishes to remain anonymous - after the boys picked up a large log from the park.Police were called and Mr Kohli told officers he had witnessed the assault.The boys were arrested on 5 September, three days after Mr Kohli's death.They appeared in youth court in Leicester in December charged with racially or religiously aggravated common assault, which they admitted.They were dealt with out of court by way of a deferred youth caution following a referral to the youth justice panel for an out-of-court disposal - a process aimed at diverting young people away from the criminal justice system where possible.
During the trial of Mr Kohli's killers, the court was told about an occasion "a week or two" before his death when the convicted girl was present while other children threw apples at him.The jury was also shown a video she had filmed on her phone of another Asian man having a water balloon thrown at him and being racially abused.And the BBC was previously told it was reported to police that in July last year, Mr Kohli had stones thrown at him, was spat at and had been racially abused by a group of children after he told them to get off his neighbour's garage roof.After Mr Kohli's death, Leicestershire Police conducted an investigation - reviewed by the IOPC - into the case and the force's previous contact with Mr Kohli, which did not identify any "misconduct or missed opportunities which could have prevented his death".A report detailing the investigation, seen by the BBC, reveals a further eight reports of similar incidents between June and August last year have been made to the police since Mr Kohli's death.It also shows that a PCSO had identified the boys involved in the 17 August 2024 assault four days after it happened in footage on the police system.They were arrested on 5 September.
In an email, Ms Kohli was told the officer in charge of the investigation into the assault on 17 August 2024 was on rest days, early and night shifts - and there was a bank holiday weekend - so "demand on policing would have been high".It states the matter was "not so serious" for others to deal with it in the officer's absence.The force told Ms Kohli it believed the decisions made were "appropriate".She said: "How is that a response to not go out... to have words with these boys or arrest them?"
Ms Kohli said it was only when she was given the report, which has not been made public, that she was made aware of the delay and sought further information from police.She added: "I'm disappointed with not just Leicestershire Police, but I'm also disappointed with the IOPC."It worries me that the IOPC didn't ask for that information."The report concluded any action, or lack of action by police, did not cause or contribute to Mr Kohli's death. Ms Kohli disagrees."It comes down to the delays... to take the required action," she said."I think my dad would still be here. There's a possibility that my dad would still be here and that's what makes me angry."Your report is constantly saying there was nothing that Leicestershire Police could have done. There's a lot that they could have done, but they chose unfortunately not to."Leicestershire Police need to hold some accountability."
Ch Supt Jonathan Starbuck, of Leicestershire Police, said the force recognised the concerns raised by Ms Kohli regarding anti-social behaviour in the Franklin Park area during the summer of 2024.He added: "We continue to monitor the area of Franklin Park and have engaged with the community through a local survey, drop-in centres, engagement with local schools, youth work and proactive policing patrols."A spokesperson for the IOPC said it had reviewed Leicestershire Police's report into the investigation.They said: "We agreed with their finding that police officers did proactively investigate matters reported to them and there was nothing to indicate any officers or police staff committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying disciplinary proceedings."And we agreed with learning identified by the force in respect of accurately recording and tagging incidents of anti-social behaviour, thus ensuring incidents can be dealt with appropriately and to support the long-term management and deterrence of ASB."The sentence given to the boy, who was convicted of Mr Kohli's manslaughter, is set to be reviewed.The Attorney General's Office has referred the case under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.A bid to have the boy's sentence increased is due to be heard at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.