Ferocious knife attack paralysed father-of-two, trial told

Father-of-two Taranjeet Singh had pulled up outside his home, in Kempsey Close, Oldbury, on September 20, 2020 when he was allegedly attacked by relative Gurvinder Toor, who was sitting in the rear passenger seat.

The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Mr Singh, 32, known as Taran, suffered a total of nine wounds to his arm and neck during the incident which happened at about 9pm as they returned from buying food from a takeaway.

Toor, 27, of Latham Crescent, Tipton, who was known to have mental health issues, is standing trial accused of attempted murder.

Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, told the jury: “The prosecution says when Toor attacked Taran Singh he intended to kill him.

“It may be that his intention changed from when he started to when he finished.

“He attacked a vulnerable part of the body, the neck.

“He stabbed and lashed out at him from the rear seat.

“Taran had no ability to defend himself.

“The attack was seemingly sudden and sustained.”

Mr Pratt added: “That attack upon Taran Singh caused him to suffer life-threatening and life-changing injuries.

“Toor did so from the rear seat of the car that Mr Singh was driving.

“You will have gathered that they had known each other.

“They and other people had spent a little time on that Sunday evening socialising.”

Mr Pratt told the jury that three wounds to a key artery resulted in Mr Singh suffering left side paralysis, paralysis to his vocal cords and a brain injury.

He would never completely recover from those injuries, he added.

Mr Spratt said Toor, also known as Gura, was arrested at the scene outside the family’s home.

The knife used to inflict the injuries was also recovered at the scene, the court was told.

The jury heard that during his police interview Toor, who had got married three weeks earlier, admitted being responsible for attacking the husband of his second cousin Sundeep Uppal.

He told the officers that he had been drinking and that he taken medication for his mental health illness, but he had not taken them for about three days prior to the incident.

Mr Spratt said Toor told the officers that while he was in the car he had thoughts that Mr Singh’s young family was in danger of being harmed by him.

Giving evidence under oath, Mrs Uppal said a number of people were also at the property including their children when her husband came inside and said he had been struck by Toor.

Mrs Uppal said: “When I first saw him I said ‘What happened to you?’ And he said, ‘Gura’s hit me’. I said, ‘What do you mean?’

“He said he’d hit him and he didn’t known what he’d been hit with.

“He said he didn’t know what happened.”

She told the jury that when she asked Toor what had happened, he replied: “I will kill you as well.”

Toor denies attempted murder.

The trial continues.