Children sentenced for the manslaughter of Leicestershire pensioner
Bhim Kohli died on the 2nd of September last year having sustained fatal injuries the day before
Last updated 5th Jun 2025
2 children have been sentenced for the manslaughter of a Leicestershire pensioner.
The 15 year old boy has been ordered to serve seven years' detention and a 13 year old girl has been handed a three-year youth rehabilitation order at Leicester Crown Court this afternoon.
Today's sentencing follows a 6 week long trial, where the court heard Bhim Kohli, who was 80, had called out for help, while walking his dog Rocky just yards away from his home, before he suffered a broken neck and fractured ribs by being kicked and punched by the balaclava-clad boy.
Mr Kohli had been racially abused, laughed at by the girl, and left on the ground before his children found him severely injured in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on the evening of September 1 last year. He died in hospital the next day.
The teenagers, who cannot be named because of their ages, were unanimously convicted of his manslaughter. The boy was cleared of murder by the jury.
You can read more about what happened in court here: 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl found guilty of manslaughter of Leicestershire pensioner.
Speaking outside the court after the verdicts were returned, Mr Kohli's daughter, Susan Kohli, said her father was "brutally and cruelly" taken from his family.
She said: "We feel angry and disgust towards the teenagers who took dad away from us. They humiliated him, an 80-year-old man, assaulted him, filmed it and laughed at him.
"Dad did not deserve this and wouldn't wish this on anyone else. He was the person who knitted our family together and we miss him every second of every day.
“Our house feels so empty without him and will never be the same."
Today Susan also shared how she "has no words" for the actions of those children, adding that "they took my dad away from us, for no reason what-so-ever."
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, of Leicestershire Police, said Mr Kohli was a "much-loved grandfather" who was "enjoying the simple things in life" such as spending time with his family, tending to his allotment and walking his dog.
He said: "Clearly the fatal attack of an elderly man in a public park close to his home address by children has shocked the community and the family to the core. This should never have happened.
"Mr Kohli was a true family man. He was the centre of his family - a very beloved husband.
"His family have been absolutely devastated by his loss. He was in the last stage of his life, but very fit and healthy and had a long life ahead of him still.
"It's a no-win situation and it should never have happened."
There was an outcry from the local community after Mr Kohli's death, with flowers being left at the park and people coming together.