A "fit as a fiddle" grandfather screamed in agony after being allegedly racially abused, pushed to the ground and attacked in a Leicester park, a jury has heard. Bhim Kohli had walked a short distance from his home to Franklin Park, in Braunstone Town, with his dog when he was allegedly attacked last September.
The 80-year-old was allegedly attacked by a 15-year-old boy wearing a balaclava who slapped him in the face with a shoe, while a 12-year-old girl filmed the incident on her phone. Mr Kohli was taken to hospital following the incident on Saturday, September 1, last year, but died the next day, Leicester Crown Court heard. Medical evidence revealed he had suffered fractured ribs and a spinal cord injury.
Today (Friday, February 28) on the fourth day of the boy and girl's trial, the court heard evidence from Mr Kohli's family, police officers and paramedics about the incident. Written statements detailing the aftermath of the alleged attack were read to jurors.
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Mr Kohli's daughter Susan revealed her father was in "agony" following the alleged attack. She said: "Whilst by his side, I knelt down and said, 'Dad, what has happened?'. He screamed, 'My neck, my neck, my neck, lift my neck.' This was not his normal tone. He was in agony, almost screaming. I have never heard him cry out in pain about anything like that before."
Jurors heard an account of what allegedly happened, detailed in a police report by officers who had heard from a witness to the attack. According to the report, the witness described “seeing the boy forcefully pushing the old man on to his back”. Jurors heard that the witness described the old man as “ending up on the floor screaming”.
A statement from Pc Rachelle Pereira referred to the pain Mr Kohli must have been in. She said: “Mr Kohli was repeatedly screaming out in pain, shouting out ‘My neck’.”
Paramedic Michael Thrift said in his statement that Mr Kohli was "screaming throughout" while being treated at the scene. Mr Thrift told the court Mr Kolhi had reported being racially abused before being pushed and hit, with Mr Kohli telling him he had been called a racist slur which had greatly upset him.
Family members described Mr Kohli as being "as fit as a fiddle" before the incident. His grandson, Simranjeet Kohli, who arrived at the park after the incident, told the court: "My granddad was yelling in pain as he was laying there."
The teenage boy is charged with Mr Kohli's murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, while the girl, who is now 13, faces a charge of Mr Kohli's manslaughter. Neither can be named due to their ages.
The trial continues.
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