Four charged with shopkeeper's murder

A 20-year-old man and three teenagers have been charged with the murder of a shopkeeper killed during a robbery on his Huddersfield store, police said today. Muawaz Khalid, 20, and three 17-year-old boys will appear before magistrates today accused of the murder and robbery of Gurmail Singh. Singh, 63, suffered serious head injuries when he was attacked at the Cowcliffe convenience store on the evening of 20 February. He died in hospital early the following morning. Police said he was hit at least nine times, possibly with a hammer, in the attack. The four men charged last night are all from the Huddersfield area. On Monday, a 17-year-old boy, also from the Huddersfield area, was charged with robbery in relation to an incident at Singh's shop, two days before the shopkeeper was killed, during which cigarettes were taken. Singh, came to the UK in 1963, and leaves a wife, two adult sons and a daughter. He turned 63 the day before he was killed. Mehboob Khan, a local councillor and leader of Kirklees council, who knew Singh for 19 years, described him as "the kind of guy who wouldn't hurt a fly". "He was down-to-earth, always cheerful, a really intelligent, friendly person. He was no spring chicken but he worked extremely hard."