The delivery driver was ambushed on a residential street – a new BBC documentary tells how police caught the gang who did it
A frenzied attack by a gang of men on a quiet residential street in Shrewsbury in broad daylight in the summer of 2023 left a young delivery driver dead.
Almost three years on, six men involved in the killing in Shropshire have been jailed for murder.
The major investigation to track down the killers and bring them to justice – led by West Mercia Police and involving international forces – has been chronicled by the BBC Two documentary series Murder 24/7.
The production team had been filming the force over the course of two years when the investigation was launched and the crew were able to capture multiple perspectives in real time.
Colin Barr, the show’s executive producer, said: “Like the first series, series two of Murder 24/7 witnesses first-hand the extraordinary pace and complexity of a murder investigation and the challenges faced by those whose job is to solve the most serious crime.
“Through multiple cases and multiple perspectives, I hope viewers are given a powerful lens on the most pressing social issues: gang violence, toxic masculinity, mental health, and addiction.”
The six-part series begins on BBC Two on Monday 16 June at 9pm, as officers begin the manhunt for delivery driver Aurman Singh’s killers.
Who was Aurman Singh and what happened to him?
Aurman Singh was a delivery driver from Smethwick in the West Midlands. Born in Italy, he lived with his mother Kuljit Kaur and his sister after losing his father at a young age.
The 23-year-old worked for the delivery firm DPD and had driven to the deport in Stoke-on Trent in Staffordshire on 21 August 2023 to collect his parcels for the days drop-offs.
He and a colleague were on their rounds in the Shropshire town of Shrewsbury when they were ambushed by a group of men on a quiet residential street in Coton Hill.
Unbeknown to them, they had been trailed by a gang of eight men in a white Mercedes and a grey Audi, who had been tipped off about Mr Singh’s route that day by another worker from the delivery depot.
The colleague was able to run away but Mr Singh was struck down by a metal bar thrown at him. He was then the victim of a frenzied attack by the gang, using an axe, a shovel, a hockey stick and a golf club.
It was so ferocious his skull had cracked open and one of his ribs had been cut through, leaving him with no chance of survival.
Residents found him and called emergency services but he died at the scene.
The attack is believed to have stemmed from Mr Singh’s previous attendance at Sandwell and Birmingham Mela, a two-day festival promoting Punjabi culture, in July 2023, and then a kabaddi tournament in Derby the day before he was killed.
At both events, violence had erupted but it is unclear if Mr Singh had been involved in any of it.
How were Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh caught?
Mehakdeep Singh, 24, and Sehajpal Singh, 26, were part of the gang who launched the attack. The pair from Tipton in the West Midlands had travelled to Shrewsbury in a white Mercedes with two other men.
Sehajpal attacked Mr Singh with a shovel, while Mehakdeep used a hockey stick. After the assault, they fled in the Mercedes before abandoning it in Shrewsbury, dumping the weapons and getting a taxi to the station.
The entire gang then reassembled at Shrewsbury station and travelled by train to Wolverhampton. Mehakdeep and Sehajpal stayed with a friend in Tipton, laying low for a few days before booking flights to Austria.
They were eventually caught by Austrian police after an inquiry conducted by West Mercia Police’s Major Investigation Unit.
Officers located Mehakdeep and Sehajpal 44 miles north east of Salzburg, and on 20 May last year, armed police arrested them at an address in the village of Hohenzell.
They were later charged with Aurman’s murder, which they denied.
Where are Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh now and how long were they jailed for?
Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh went on trial at Stafford Crown Court in March, and after a three-week hearing, a jury found both fo them guilty of murder.
In April, they were given life sentences and told they would serve a minimum term of 28 years in prison.
During their trial, Aurman’s mother recounted how the wait for the two men to be caught and brought to justice had been “agonising” for her and her family.
She said: “The prolonged waiting, the uncertainty and the constant reminder of the trauma my family has suffered has taken a tremendous toll on me.”
She said the death of Aurman had left her “struggling to put into words the depth of pain and devastation that has consumed me”.
Four men who had travelled to Shrewsbury in the grey Audi and been part of the attack – Arshdeep Singh, 24 of Tipton; Jagdeep Singh, 23, of Dudley; Shivdeep Singh, 27, of Smethwick; and Manjot Singh, 24, of Smethwick; were all found guilty of Aurman’s murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison each.
Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, from Peterborough, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in supplying Mr Singh’s delivery route to the gang.
Two other men, who were also in the white Mercedes and were involved in the attack, remain at large.
Speaking after the sentencing of Mehakdeep and Sehajpal, Detective Sergeant Mat Crisp, from West Mercia Police’s Major Investigation Unit, said: “This attack was calculated and brutal; it was not a robbery that went wrong, it was planned and Aurman was their sole target.
“Following an incident the previous day that involved Aurman, the group used a contact to access inside information from his employer to learn Aurman’s delivery route, before laying in wait for him on a quiet Shropshire street.
“The group used an arsenal of weapons against Aurman, who was defenceless. There is no doubt in my mind what their intention was, and that was to kill him.
“This investigation has been complex and saw us work closely with police forces across the country and abroad, and I would like to thank my team and everyone involved for their hard work in getting us to this point.”
