A 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of an 80-year-old grandfather after he was attacked in a park.
Police launched a murder investigation after Bhim Kohli died when he was seriously injured near the entrance of Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, just seconds away from his home on Sunday evening.
Andrew Baxter, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has reviewed a file of evidence from Leicestershire Police and has authorized a charge of murder against a 14-year-old boy in relation to the death of Bhim Sen. Kohli.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that the youth has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The youngster will appear at Leicester Youth Court tomorrow (Thursday).
Five children – a boy and a girl aged 14 and one boy and two girls aged 12 – were arrested on suspicion of murder after Mr Kohli was found in the park.
Four have since been released while the remaining suspect has now been charged.
It has been reported that Mr. Kohli was allegedly verbally abused by a group of youths near his home in July.
Police said they were keeping an open mind about the motive and circumstances surrounding the incident.
The postmortem determined that Mr. Kohli died due to neck injuries.
Mr Kohli's family paid tribute to him this week, branding him a “loving and caring” person.
They said: “Bhim was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He was also a son, brother and uncle.
“He adored his grandkids with all his heart and loved spending time with them. He really was such a loving, caring person whose life was centered around his family.
“He has always been a very hardworking man and even at the age of 80 he was still very active.
“One of his great passions was his allotment, he would go every day to tend to his plots and was so proud of them. He also enjoyed walking the family dog Rocky on the park many times a day.
“Bhim loved to laugh. He was always very happy and talkative, the joker of the family and always loved to outsmart us with a smile.”
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