Teenage boy's sentence quantum for killing British Indian man to be reviewed

London: The seven-year prison sentence of a 15-year-old boy who was found guilty of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli following an "unprovoked" assault is to be reviewed under the UK's unduly lenient sentence scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office said on Friday that the sentence of the teenager, who cannot be named as he is a minor, will be reviewed by the Court of Appeal. It follows a detailed review of the case by the UK’s Solicitor General to see if it met the threshold for a review.

"The Solicitor General, Lucy Rigby KC MP, was appalled by this violent, cowardly attack on an innocent man. She wishes to express her deepest sympathies to Bhim Kohli's friends and family at this difficult time,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said.

"After undertaking a detailed review of the case, the Solicitor General concluded the sentence of the 15-year-old boy could be referred to the Court of Appeal. The court will determine if the sentence is increased or not," the spokesperson said.

A 13-year-old girl also convicted of manslaughter over the attack in a park near Leicester, eastern England, in September last year had escaped a custodial sentence.

Justice Mark Turner, who handed down the sentences in a televised hearing from Leicester Crown Court on June 5, described the attack on Kohli as he walked his dog as “wicked”.

In April, a jury had convicted the boy, referred to as D1, for punching and kicking Kohli and the girl, dubbed D2, for filming and encouraging the attack. Being minors, neither were named for legal reasons and the judge stated that he was bound by law to take their age into consideration in the sentence he handed down.

Addressing the girl, he noted that a custodial sentence would do “more harm than good” as he imposed strict conditions on her as part of a three-year youth rehabilitation order including a six-month curfew. It is believed the girl's sentence will not be referred to the Court of Appeal as the threshold for a review had not been met.

Earlier, a trial at Leicester Crown Court heard how Kohli was racially abused when the boy pushed, kicked and punched him, and the girl encouraged him by recording parts of the attack while laughing.

Bhim Kohli’s daughter, Susan, who found her father lying on the ground following the attack, said it was hard to find forgiveness for the pair, regardless of their ages.

"They chose to attack a defenceless pensioner and for that I cannot give them any of my sympathy," she said, following the sentencing last month.

“This tragic incident shocked the community of Leicester and beyond. Mr Kohli set out to walk his dog in his local park as he did every day, but lost his life in what followed,” Kelly Matthews, Senior District Crown Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), had said at the time.