A MAN accused of the murder of shopkeeper Gurmail Singh had only been out of custody for 20 days when the raid on the Cowcliffe shop took place.

Shoaib Khan, who was 17 at the time of the raid on the 63-year-old’s convenience store in February, is the final defendant to take to the witness box.

He told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that he didn’t get involved in a plan to rob the shopkeeper.

Khan said he was subject to a referral order for an assault at the time and told the court that he had only been out of custody for 20 days.

Khan, of Calton Street, Hillhouse, said he had been at his home with Rehman Afzal when the other three defendants Muawaz Khalid, Nabeel Shafi and Umare Aslam arrived at the house.

He said he had only been expecting Shafi to come to the house and when he saw the men outside he noticed that Shafi and Khalid were a bit giddy and hyper.

“They appeared to be a bit drunk,” he told the court.

Khan said he was planning to go to a friend’s house to collect a USB memory stick with some music on it and he walked with the others to the nearby taxi base.

He denied the suggestion that the group got into a football huddle while he gave them instructions about the robbery and alleged that it was Khalid who told him they were going to do a “raise”.

Khan said he didn’t believe they would do it because Khalid was a bit drunk and hyper and when the other four men got in a taxi together he told them to forget about it.

“Did you give any indication to Muawaz Khalid or any of the others that you were up for a raise?” asked his barrister Andrew Hall QC.

“Not at all,” replied Khan.

Khan claimed that before the taxi drove off Afzal tried to persuade him to get in but he said he was off to Fixby to pick up something and didn’t want to get involved in anything.

Khan, now aged 18, together with Aslam, 20, of Coniston Avenue, Dalton, Khalid, 20, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Crosland Moor, Shafi, 18, of Park Hill, Bradley, Afzal, 18, of Jancinth, Court, Fartown, all deny murdering Mr Singh.

Afzal and Shafi have pleaded guilty to robbery, but that charge is denied by the other three defendants.

Khan has admitted a charge of assisting an offender.

Mr Singh was allegedly bludgeoned to death with wine bottles during the raid on his store.

The trial continues.