Two youths have been sentenced to prison for killing a 16-year-old boy who they wrongly believed was a member of a rival gang.

Vanushan Balakrishnan (18) of Waylands, Hillingdon and Ilyas Suleiman (18) of St Jeromes Grove, Hillingdon, were sentenced for the murder of 16-year-old Rishmeet Singh, on 10th May 2023 at the Old Bailey,

Balakrishnan was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for life imprisonment, while Suleiman was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison for life. They were both convicted of murder at the same court on Monday, 6 March 2023.

---

Balakrishnan and Suleiman, who were both 17 years old at the time of the incident. They armed themselves with knives, put their hoods up, and covered their faces with COVID-masks in an attempt to conceal their identities as they planned to commit murder.

On 24 November 2021, Rishmeet Singh was walking home after spending an evening with friends in a park in old Southall, when he saw two unknown males running towards him.

He ran down Raleigh Road in Southall, where he tripped and fell. One of his pursuers (Balakrishnan) then stabbed him at least five times in the back, and seconds later, the second male (Suleiman) also began to stab Rishmeet at least 10 times.

The whole attack, from when Rishmeet tripped, lasted 27 seconds. CCTV footage captured the two fleeing the scene.

---

Balakrishnan was arrested on suspicion of murder at his home address on 2 December 2021. Clothing he wore and a notebook containing lyrics he had written describing unique features of Rishmeet’s murder were found on his mobile phone.

MetPolice images: Vanushan Balakrishnan and Ilyas Suleiman

Detective Inspector Laura Semple, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: "Rishmeet was an innocent, young 16-year-old who had his whole life ahead of him. Poor Rishmeet was simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Judge Sarah Munro detailed the actions of Balakrishnan and Suleiman before and after Rishmeet's murder in a brutal manner.

---

Balakrishnan and Suleiman were forced into selling Class A drugs to pay off their debts to gang leaders.

On the night of the killing, Balakrishnan and Suleiman carried a three-foot-long machete and a Rambo knife. They had gone into a rival gang's territory to "glide" - to commit violence.

Rishmeet’s mother Gulinder said: : "Rishmeet was my only child, and he had his whole life ahead of him. I feel I have lost everything and my life is over."

"Rishmeet was well loved by all that knew him, he was a faithful boy and was very caring in his nature."

"Justice is finally served for Rishmeet but their sentence will never be enough for me. They have taken my whole life away from me and Rishmeet will never come home again."