AN ASIAN teenager brutally killed at the weekend may have been the victim of gang violence.
Amar Aslam, a 17-year-old from Dewsbury, died after a “sustained and vicious beating” in Crow Nest Park, Dewsbury.
His body was found in the park’s walled garden at 7.30pm on Sunday.
Police have now arrested five people in connection with the incident.
This morning officers detained two boys, aged 12 and 13.
Yesterday they arrested three people; two are 15-year-old youths and the third is a 20-year-old man.
All are being questioned at various West Yorkshire police stations as part of the murder inquiry into the boy’s death.
It is feared that Amar, whose body was found in a walled garden at Crow Nest Park in Dewsbury on Sunday night, could have been the victim of gang violence.
Police are investigating possible links between his death and reports of running battles between two gangs of youths throughout the afternoon.
A source close to the victim’s family, who lives in Dewsbury and did not wish to be named, said: “Stuff went on in the park between different gangs of youths during the day.
“There was fighting between a white gang and a non-white gang. There is a belief that there may be a link between that and the murder of this young man.
“It’s possible that what happened to Amar was a continuation of that violence. His family are absolutely distraught.”
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the possibility of a link would be investigated.
He said: “We are still looking at a possible motive, so we cannot link the boy’s death to anything else at this moment.
“But we are looking at what happened in the park during the day and whether there may be a link.
“We are looking at whether anything else happened in the park and if it did whether he was involved in it.”
Amar, who was wearing white tracksuit bottoms, black trainers, and a Bench top, was found by two members of the public who rang for an ambulance.
Det Supt Chris Thompson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, appealed for witnesses to come forward.
He spoke during a press conference at the park yesterday.
He said: “The cause of death has not yet been established, but he had been subjected to a sustained and vicious beating.
“We would like to appeal for anyone who was in the park between 2pm and 8pm on Sunday to come forward and help us build a clearer picture of events.
“We know the park was very busy with a lot of groups of young people around during the day.
“We have not yet established a motive for the attack.”
Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik, who lives a matter of minutes from the park at Heckmondwike Road, said the three arrested men were of Asian background, suggesting that there may not have been a racial motive to the killing.
Mr Malik said: “I can confirm that the three men who are in custody are actually all Asian, which means that the race motive perhaps is not one that might be the cause of the death.”
The MP said he was shocked by the incident.
He added: “First and foremost my thoughts and the thoughts of the people of Dewsbury and beyond are with the family of this young man.
“It is a tragedy that, fortunately, most of us will never have to experience.
“I have spoken with the police and I am utterly convinced that we will bring the murderer or murderers to justice.
“It is really important now that people get behind the police effort and it is crucial that people stay calm and do not jump to conclusions. We must allow the police to do their job.”
Mr Malik said incidents like Ahmed’s death, Shannon Matthews’ alleged abduction and the Crow Nest Park killing had thrown an unwelcome spotlight on Dewsbury.
He said: “There are few communities in the country that have had to endure so much in such a short space of time, but the people of Dewsbury have shown great resilience and that resilience will be key as we move forward.”
A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We received a call at 19.11 to a patient in Crow Nest Park in Dewsbury.
“One ambulance crew attended the scene, but did not convey the patient to hospital.”
The incident comes just five months after 17-year-old Ahmed Hassan was stabbed to death at Dewsbury railway station on December 16.
Michael Brook, 18, of St Matthew Road, Westtown, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons are due to stand trial for his murder next month.
Crow Nest Park opened to the public in 1893 amid the landscaped gardens of a country house estate.
Dewsbury Corporation paid £50,000 to buy the land and the mansion house from the Hague family in the 1890s.
It was designed to bring a feel of the countryside into what was a very industrial area with most of the town’s residents employed in the many textile mills in the town.
