Indian immigrant gets life for killing flatmate

LONDON: A London court has sentenced an illegal Indian immigrant to life for murdering his flatmate last year with a heavy metal bracelet worn by Sikhs.

Merjit Bains, 32, was found guilty on Thursday of murder by a court in London and handed out a life sentence. He must serve a minimum of 12 years in prison.

Merjit along with his friends, Jatinder Kandola, Jagpal Jaswal and Ritesh Marwaha, mercilessly beat Ragbir Singh Chahal to death with a 'kara' after a heated argument. All four, who were apparently drunk, later dumped the body in a secluded place in West Midlands and fled to Birmingham.

But they left Chahal's mobile phone in his trouser pocket. Police caught them after finding their numbers in the phone's memory, the newsshopper.co.uk reported.

Jaswal and Marwaha were acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and attempting to pervert the course of justice. They were jailed for four years each.

Kandola was cleared of both murder and manslaughter, but convicted for attempting to pervert the course of justice and jailed for three years.

Judge David Paget has recommended each of them for deportation when they are released from prison.