A 16-year-old student of Bengali heritage, from Blackburn, Lancs, was allegedly been taken prisoner by a group of Pakistani men after they saw him talking to a girl who was in his classmate, a court has heard.
Preston Crown Court heard that the schoolboy was subject to beating by the Pakistani girl's uncle, before her brother, father and cousin joined in to attack the boy.
It is also suggested that the boy was taken to a cul-de-sac, where he was repeatedly battered with weapons, and kicked in the head while being told, “Don't mess with our blood- find someone your own kind.”
The schoolboy fought for his life while onlookers, thought to include women as well, allegedly shouted, “Kill him, kick him in the head, finish him off.”
The group of men seized the schoolboy's mobile phone to search for evidence he had been dating the girl. They found pictures of the two together in his phone.
The group of men eventually released the boy by driving him away from the scene and dumping him near a local barber's shop.
It is said that the schoolboy was later treated at the Royal Blackburn Hospital for injuries similar to those received by a knuckleduster. He suffered lacerations and bruisings to his lip, head, torso, ear and face. The three large cuts to his head were treated with staples at the hospital.
The girl's brother, trainee accountant Khizum Baig, 29, the girl's cousin, college student Saqib Mirza Baig, 29, her uncle, Ghazanfar Mirza, 37, and her father, taxi driver Mirza Baig, 48, all pleaded guilty to affray in court.
Prosecutor Nicholas Flanagan stated in court, “The ethnicity of the boy is the background motive for the attack. Comments were made saying 'don't mess with our blood' and 'find your own kind'. Both the boy and the girl was in a relationship may have been a motive or added motive. There are honour overtones to this incident.”
After the ordeal, the victim released a statement expressing, “I've lost my independence and I'm scared to leave home by myself. I've been fearful since the attack and have stopped socialising with friends. It's had an impact on my schooling and I am self-conscious of the scar on my head which causes me pain.”
Defending the group of men in court, Robert Elias said for the girl's father, Mirza Baig, “This is not a case that had racial or honour causes. Honour cases are where the family do not approve of a relationship and punish the young girl. This can't be the case because the girl was not involved. It has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or honour. He [Mirza Baig] comes from a family of Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Hindus and they all get along. This relationship by the boy's own evidence was a secret one and that was the concern and dismay for this defendant. That seems to be the trigger. But it wasn't a serious relationship- it wasn't Romeo and Juliet. He was concerned for the girl and that the family had not been introduced or told about this boy.”
The group of men will received a jail sentence in court this week.
