15-year-old UK teenager jailed for killing Indian-origin octogenarian

A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to seven years in jail for killing an 80-year-old Indian-origin man who was assaulted while walking his dog in a park in Leicester, England. A 13-year-old girl, who encouraged the assault and laughed as she filmed the attack on her phone, was given a youth rehabilitation order of three years along with a six-month curfew, according to a report in the BBC.

The victim was identified as Bhim Sen Kohli. The incident took place in September 2024.

Justice Mark Turner, who announced the sentences in a televised hearing from Leicester Crown Court on Thursday, described the attack on Kohli as "cowardly" and "wicked".

The boy racially abused Kohli before slapping him in the face with a slider shoe.

As both individuals are minors, their identities cannot be disclosed for legal reasons. The judge noted that he was legally required to consider their age when determining the sentence. Both were convicted of manslaughter.

The jury, in April, convicted the boy, referred to as D1, of punching and kicking Kohli, and the girl, dubbed D2, for filming and encouraging the attack, news agency PTI reported.

"You made a cowardly attack on an elderly man," Justice Turner told the boy.

Addressing the girl, the justice noted that a custodial sentence would do "more harm than good", as he imposed strict conditions on her as part of a three-year youth rehabilitation order, including a six-month curfew.

The attack occurred around 6:30 pm near a park on September 1. Kohli, who was from Leicester, died a day later at a hospital.

Kohli had a factory in Leicester making jumpers and cardigans but retired many years ago. He is survived by two sons and a daughter, all grown up, and two grandsons, according to Kohli's neighbour, Deep Kaila.

KOHLI'S FAMILY ISSUES STATEMENT

After the convictions, the victim’s daughter, Susan Kohli, issued a statement on behalf of the family, honouring him as a devoted partner to her mother for 55 years, as well as a loving father, grandfather, brother, and uncle.

"Listening to the enormity of what dad was subjected to will never leave us. We feel anger and disgust towards the teenagers who took dad away from us. They humiliated an 80-year-old man, assaulted him, filmed it, and laughed at him," said Susan.

"We can’t put into words the pain we feel every day, and this has magnified during the trial," she said.

Crucial evidence from the girl's phone, including harrowing footage of the attack on Kohli, was presented to the jury.

"The boy confessed to witnesses that he had attacked the elderly man and later wrote a letter to a social worker admitting his actions," PTI reported.

Kelly Matthews, Senior District Crown Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, presented CCTV evidence of their actions before and after the attack, including audio of them joking about the attack to friends.

"We have shown in this trial that these young defendants were responsible for Mr Kohli’s death in an unprovoked attack on an innocent man. They filmed the incident and laughed and bragged about it afterwards," she said following the convictions.