A 20-YEAR-OLD man and three 17-year-old youths accused of murdering Huddersfield shopkeeper Gurmail Singh have had their case adjourned by a crown court judge in their absence.

The four men had been due to appear before Bradford Crown Court on Monday, but their case was brought forward to yesterday because of possible strike action planned for next week at the courts.

All four accused are currently remanded in custody and yesterday’s formal preliminary hearing took place in their absence.

The Honorary Recorder of Bradford Judge James Stewart QC confirmed that a plea and case management hearing had been fixed for June 18 and a provisional trial date was set for August 31.

Muawaz Khalid, 20, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, and the three teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of murder and robbery following the death of 63-year-old Mr Singh (pictured) last month.

He suffered fatal injuries during a raid on his shop in the Cowcliffe area of Huddersfield on February 20.

All four defendants were formally remanded back into custody until their next hearing in June.