Dog walker, 80, killed in attack had reported anti-social behaviour to police

An 80-year-old dog walker allegedly killed in a park in Leicester had previously complained to police about anti-social behaviour by youths.

Bhim Sen Kohli died on Monday after being attacked the day before just seconds from his home in Braunstone Town, near Leicester, while he was walking his dog Rocky in Franklin Park.

He previously called police about a gang of youths plaguing the cul-de-sac where he lived, who spat at him and threw rocks at him.

Mr Kohli, originally from Punjab in India, was “kicked in the spine” after he was allegedly set upon at around 6.30pm on Sunday. 

Officers from Leicestershire arrested a boy and a girl aged 14, and a boy and two girls aged 12, on suspicion of murder and the force has referred itself to the watchdog over prior contact with the victim.

The force said on Tuesday night that all of them bar the 14-year-old boy have been bailed with no further action taken. He remains in custody. 

Mr Kohli, a father-of-three and keen gardener, had reported a group of youths for anti-social behaviour after he told them off for sitting on a neighbour’s garage roof.

Graham Haldane, 55, said it took police three days to take a statement following the incident.

He said: “He was a lovely guy but was getting very frail. He had osteoporosis and could hardly move his neck.

“He had three plots at the allotments and worked on them all year round. He had some bother a few months back with some kids who had climbed onto the flat garage roof opposite.

“He challenged them and they dished out some abuse and spat at him. He rang the police about it but it took them three days to come round and take a statement.

“He was a frail guy and wasn’t a threat to anyone. I just can’t believe someone has had a dig at him.”

Before he died, Mr Kohli’s daughter said that he had been rushed to the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham due to the seriousness of his injuries, which she claimed had been caused when he was shoved to the ground and kicked.

She told LeicestershireLive: “They pushed him, they kicked him in the neck, kicked him in the spine. He’s been sent to QMC for surgery - it’s serious.”

She described how she heard neighbours outside and realised something was going on and rushed to the park to discover her father “lying under a tree”.

“He was about 30 seconds away from getting home when he was attacked,” she added.

“He was lying under the tree and at first he was complaining about his neck and now he’s not able to move his legs.

“He’s always been very active – he has three allotments. We’ve lived here for 40 years, and just recently there’s been a lot of anti-social behaviour, which has been reported to the police.”

Mr Kohli’s family also live in the area. He would walk his dog through the park, where anti-social youths would gather.

One neighbour of Mr Kohli, who asked not to be named, said of a group of children who had been causing trouble on the street: “They’ve been playing up late at night. My friend said they were throwing stones at this Asian man.”

Another neighbour added: “The big rocks, the sort you would have on a driveway, they were throwing them at the same gentleman. It was a few nights before the incident, the same man.”

Neighbours described how maintaining three allotments kept Mr Kohli “very active”, growing “amazing” vegetables as part of his passion for gardening.

Kerry Haldane, 55, a customer complaints manager, who knew Mr Kholi from the allotment, said she had last seen him on Saturday as he tended to his vegetables with his dog Rocky.

“He was the most incredible individual,” she told The Telegraph. “He would grow things that you wouldn’t always see on an English allotment, as he was Asian and they use different things in their cooking. We would swap things, he would grow chickpeas and we would give him artichokes.

“I cannot think of a single reason why anyone would not like him. He was such a lovely man. Quite often you would see him with his grandchildren at the allotment and his wife would go down and help him. He always used to joke that his wife would get the rubbish jobs like the weeding.”

Deep Singh Kalia, 70, who had known Mr Kohli for more than 30 years, said: “He was such a lovely guy. It is a horrible shock. I would meet up with him every day. We were both originally from the Punjab in India.

“He loved his allotment, and loved his dog, and loved his family. He used to own a factory that made jumpers and cardigans. I don’t know why anyone would have wanted to do something like this to him. He was just a very nice man who wouldn’t have done anything to provoke this.”

Harjinder, Mr Kalia’s wife, added: “It is just awful. Bhim wouldn’t have harmed anyone.”

Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and launched a murder investigation.

An IOPC spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have received a referral from Leicestershire Police in relation to this matter. We will carry out an assessment in due course to decide what further action may be required from us.”

Det Insp Emma Matts, the senior investigating officer, said in a statement: “The circumstances surrounding Mr Kohli’s death are extremely tragic and upsetting not only for his family and friends, but also the wider community. 

“Our investigation into the assault on Mr Kohli remains ongoing. We continue to keep an open mind around the circumstances surrounding the incident as we work to establish what occurred in the park on Sunday evening.”