Five in court over shopkeeper murder

Five men appeared in court today accused of murdering a shopkeeper who was beaten to death during a robbery at his store.

Umare Aslam, 20, Muawaz Khalid, 20, Shoaib Khan, 18, Nabeel Shafi, 18, and Rehman Afzal, 18, are charged with the murder and robbery of Huddersfield shopkeeper Gurmail Singh.

Mr Singh, 63, died from head injuries after he was struck at least nine times with a weapon, believed to be a hammer, in the shop in the Cowcliffe area of Huddersfield on February 20.

Aslam, of Coniston Avenue, Dalton, Huddersfield; Khalid, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Huddersfield; Khan, of Calton Street, Hillhouse, Huddersfield; Shafi, of Park Hill, Bradley, Huddersfield; and Afzal, of Jacinth Court, Fartown, Huddersfield, appeared at Bradford Crown Court for a case management hearing.

All five, who are in custody, raised their hands as their names were read to the court and sat in the dock with four security guards.

The case was adjourned for a plea and case management hearing at Leeds Crown Court on July 19.

A preliminary trial date is listed for August 31 and a trial is expected to last five weeks.

Earlier this year, an A-level student was handed a six-month detention and training order after admitting robbing Mr Singh two days before he was fatally attacked.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, robbed Mr Singh of cigarettes at his store on February 18.

Police said Mr Singh came to the UK in 1963. He left a wife, two adult sons and a daughter. He celebrated his 63rd birthday the day before he died.