THE latest news from our reporter, Adrian Capstick, who is at Manchester Crown Court for the trial of four young men accused of murdering Nelson dad Mohammed Raja Shafiq (50) in Burnley's Thompson Park in March.
The father-of-seven, who is said to have gone to the park to intervene in a fight involving his son, Umar, died in the Royal Blackburn Hospital after being stabbed and beaten.
In the dock accused of murder and violent disorder are Burnley men Mohammed Bilal Bhatti (21), of Holcombe Drive; Mohammed Shahdab Akhtar (19), of Scott Park Road; Omar Khalid (19), of Fairfield Drive; and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons. They all deny the allegations made against them.
The trial is expected to last four weeks and we'll have daily updates here ....
The jury at Manchester Crown Court this morning heard details of an incident that occured a month before the murder in Thompson Park.
Mr Ali Altaf (19), a Burnley College friend of Umar Shafiq, told the court how Umar was challenged by Shadab Akhtar and his father following a car accident in February.
Akhtar's father opened the driver's door and started shouting "why are you pressing charges on my son?" and then punched and kicked Umar while he was still in the driver's seat, according to the witness.
Mr Altaf then said Akhtar also tried to punch Umar, but missed. Mr Altaf got out of the car and told Akhtar to leave him alone and there was a scuffle before the police were called.
Earlier this morning, the court heard from Mr Karl Kemp (18), a friend of witness Mr Stefan Jones. When asked by Mr Peter Birkett (defending Bhatti) if he had gone to watch a one-on-one fight he said "that's when it kicked off".
Akhtar wanted it away from everyone else but Umar wanted it there, the witness said. Mr Kemp went on to say how the other group had "more than 20 people and we were surpised by the size of the group."
When asked by Mr Birkett if he had seen Mr Jones speaking to Bhatti on the phone Mr Kemp replied: "I think so, yeah. I didn't hear what Stefan was saying."
The trial continues.
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