Man jailed after stabbing man up to 14 times in 'drug debt' row

A 21-year-old who repeatedly stabbed another man in a street fight over an alleged drugs debt has been jailed for eight years.

Rajpal Jatana was 20 when, on September 12 last year, outside his home in Wentworth Road, Southall, he stabbed Jasdip Bagri at least four times and up to 14, leaving him with a punctured liver and a collapsed lung, Kingston Crown Court heard today.

He had admitted at trial in February causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent but denied attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Judge Susan Tapping today 'ruled not guilty verdicts' on the other two charges, which had been left to lie on file after Mr Bagri, who was wanted by police on drugs matters, declined to give evidence.

Bill McGivern, prosecuting, told the court how a witness had seen Mr Bagri pull up outside Jatana's home in a silver BMW and shout at him 'you owe me money'.

One of Jatana's brothers said he would deal with the matter and approached Mr Bagri, according to the witness, who lost his temper, getting out of the car, shouting 'who can touch me?' and punching Jatana's brother.

"At this stage, the witness said Jatana joined in, going to the assistance of his brother," said Mr McGivern.

"He said Jatana didn't have a knife with him at this point and they were trading punches, but suddenly he saw a knife in the defendant's hands, which was the first time he had seen it."

"He said he saw Jatana stab the victim at least four times... He tried to pull the defendant away but he was emotional and wouldn't listen to him. He goes on to describe the victim screaming out and falling to the ground."

Mr McGivern said another witness described seeing Jatana's mother try to intervene, at which point the witness heard the defendant say 'I want to kill that b*****d. Why did he beat up my brother?'

A third witness, the court was told, said he heard Jatana say to someone in a car 'I stabbed your mate. What are you going to do about it?'

Mr Bagri was in intensive care for three days after the attack, and the court heard how he had 20 wounds, 14 of which were consistent with stabbing. They included potentially life-threatening puncture wounds to his liver and a lung.

During the fight, three other cars arrived at the scene, containing what a witness described as associates of Bagri. Weapons including a knuckle duster and metal poles, which were used to hit Jatana's brothers over the head, were seen being brandished.

Jatana initially fled the scene but handed himself in at Hounslow police station on September 15 and was charged the following day.

Melanie Simpson, defending, told the court Jatana claimed Mr Bagri had produced the knife and the defendant wrestled it off him, which she said was consistent with both men's DNA being found on the handle.

She described Jatana as a bright student, who had no previous convictions and had achieved 14 A*-C GCSEs before dropping out of college after developing a cannabis habit.

She said the defendant, who worked at Tesco, believed he had paid off the drug debt of about £400 but was still being pursued.

"He was acting in excessive self defence but he understands the seriousness of what he did and has expressed remorse," added Ms Simpson.

Sentencing Jatana, Judge Susan Tapping said: "A witness first saw the knife in your hand. You maintain you disarmed Mr Bagri. If that's the case you did so before he caused you any injury and you went on to attack him in an appallingly violent way.

"You were heard shouting in a highly charged and aggressive manner, bordering on boasting about the stabbing.

"Because of that lack of control you can't possibly know how many injuries you caused, but you inflicted more injuries than you admit and even if some were caused by others you're jointly responsible for all his injuries."

DC Ben Hawkins, of Hounslow CID, said: "This was an aggressive and sustained assault in the middle of a street in the early evening, when members of the public were going home or passing by.

"A knife was used in this assault and it astonished those working on the case that the victim survived his injuries.

"That he did was very much down to medical staff and police officers who arrived on scene and quickly gave first aid.

"In any society such crime should not be tolerated and we have worked hard to identify, arrest and bring Mr Jatana to court. We are pleased with the result of this case."