TWO men were today found guilty of battering a Huddersfield shopkeeper to death with wine bottles from his own shelves during a botched robbery.
Gurmail Singh, 63, died when he tried to stop youths robbing his shop in Cowcliffe, in February.
A jury of nine women and three men found Muawaz Khalid, 20, (below left) and Nabeel Shafi, 18, (below right) guilty of murder following a six week trial at Bradford Crown Court.
Three other men, Umare Aslam, 20, Shoaib Khan, 18, and Rehman Afzal, 18, were cleared of murder.
Khalid and Aslam were also convicted of robbery. Khan was cleared of the robbery charge.
Afzal and Shafi pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the charge of robbing Mr Singh.
The jury was told that Khan had admitted a charge of assisting an offender.
Mr Justice Henriques adjourned sentencing until November 16 so pre-sentence reports could be carried out.
According to prosecutors at Bradford Crown Court, Mr Singh was attacked as he resisted attempts to take cash, cigarettes, alcohol and sweets from his convenience store in the Cowcliffe area of the town.
The jury was told he died as a result of a "robbery gone wrong" when he "did not meekly hand over his property, his hard-earned money".
The court heard smokers outside the pub opposite the shop realised something was wrong when they saw two men run from the scene.
One man trapped the remaining two members of the gang inside by holding the door shut but they got out of a back door after desperate attempts to smash their way out of the front, prosecutors said.
Both these suspects were tackled by other members of the public but managed to free themselves and get away, the court was told.
The court was told Mr Singh was attacked at about 8.30pm on February 20 and died the following day. He had been hit at least seven times with a heavy object.
The prosecution alleged that four of the defendants - Aslam, Khalid, Shafi and Afzal - went into the store to rob Mr Singh.
Adrian Waterman QC, prosecuting, told the jury it was Afzal and Aslam who ran from the shop first. It was Shafi and Khalid who got out of the back and were tackled by members of the public outside, he said.
Khan was not in the shop because he could not fit in the taxi which took the others, Mr Waterman said.
Aslam, of Coniston Avenue, Dalton, Huddersfield; Khalid, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Huddersfield; Khan, of Calton Street, Hillhouse, Huddersfield; Shafi, of Park Hill, Bradley, Huddersfield; and Afzal, of Jacinth Court, Fartown, Huddersfield, all denied murder.
Khalid, Khan and Aslam also denied robbery.
Khan denied taking part in the planning of the robbery and said he did not know the others were going to the convenience store in Cowcliffe Hill Road.
The other four defendants all denied taking part in the fatal attack on Mr Singh.
The court heard the shopkeeper came to England from India in 1963 and raised his family in Huddersfield.
All five men were remanded in custody.
The family of the victim declined to comment as they left court.
After the convictions, Detective Superintendent David Pervin paid tribute to Mr Singh.
He said: "Gurmail Singh was a very good man. He was extremely hard-working, well liked, well respected by all of his village community.
"On Thursday 18th February Gurmail was robbed at his shop, on February 19 he celebrated his 63rd birthday and on Saturday 20th February he was brutally murdered.
"He died protecting what he had worked so very hard for, but he never stood a chance. Those responsible shattered his skull with repeated forceful blows using bottles.
"He was killed for just a few pounds, some cigarettes and some sweets.
"This was an investigation in which huge support was given by the community. Several very courageous local people tried to tackle the murderers and stop them getting away.
"When the community learned of what had happened to Gurmail Singh there was massive public response. The level of public interest and information provided by the community was as great as I have ever seen in any investigation.
"I would like to give my thanks to the community of Huddersfield for their support, to those witnesses who came forward and gave evidence.
The detective said he had "every respect" for the family of Mr Singh who had conducted themselves with the "utmost dignity and restraint" throughout the trial.
He added: "Gurmail Singh helped everyone that he came into contact with. He had no enemies, just friends, and he did not deserve to die.
"In the circumstances no punishment feels enough, but I hope that those who have been convicted today do spend a long, long time behind bars allowing them to reflect on the consequences of taking a life for just a few pounds."
Heather Gilmore, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and junior counsel in the case, said: "CPS West Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Police consulted closely during a fast-moving investigation and arrest phase and throughout this case to bring these defendants to justice.
"Mr Singh was a much-loved husband and father and a highly respected member of the community; an utterly decent man whose brutal murder in February 2010 horrified not just local people, but also the wider public.
"These defendants robbed Mr Singh of his life. They also robbed his family of a much-loved husband, father and brother, and the community of a much liked and highly respected man.
"I would like to pay tribute to Mr Singh’s family who have attended each day of the trial and displayed great dignity throughout.
"We hope that these convictions bring a measure of comfort to Mr Singh’s family and friends."
