2 men jailed for fatal stabbing of Indian-origin man in UK
London, Oct 24 : Two men convicted of the fatal stabbing of an Indian-origin man earlier this year have been sentenced to a total of 40 years in jail by a London court.
Balbir Johal, 48, was attacked in the Southall suburb of west London in March and rushed to hospital with stab wounds but died a short time later. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command launched a murder investigation and charged Hassan Mohammed, 24, and Yassin Yussuf, 21, with the murder of the logistics planner a day later.
At an Old Bailey court hearing in London on Tuesday, Mohamed was sentenced to 26 years' imprisonment and told he must serve the full term before being considered for release.
Yussuf was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment and an additional three years on license, or release under strict conditions. He was told he must serve nine-and-a-half years behind bars before being considered for release.
"This fateful encounter, despite the best efforts of medical staff, cost Balbir his life. Those who carry and use knives must face the consequences of their actions and we hope these sentences serve as a deterrent to anyone else thinking of carrying dangerous weapons on our streets," said Detective Chief Inspector Nicky Wall, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command.
On March 19, police were notified by Ealing Hospital staff that Balbir Johal had been admitted to hospital suffering stab injuries. He died a short time later. A post-mortem examination, which took place on March 22, found the cause of death to be a haemorrhage from a stab wound to the right femoral vein, the Met Police said.
Detectives established through their enquiries that Johal was involved in an altercation with two men on Marlborough Road in Southall. CCTV captured the incident and showed two men in a white Mercedes pulling up alongside Johal before getting out and speaking to him.
One then returned to the vehicle and armed himself with a knife from inside the car before chasing after the victim and fatally stabbing him. He was driven to hospital by a family member and treated for his injuries but could not be saved.
On March 20, Mohamed and Yussuf were stopped by police in the car that had been captured on CCTV and were arrested on suspicion of murder and subsequently charged.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
