London: Indian kills friend for insurance, gets lifer

LONDON: An Indian-origin man in Britain was jailed for life for murdering his school friend to claim 319,000 pounds in life insurance he had taken out in the defendant's name.

Jagdev Singh Rai, 44, was imprisoned for life last week for luring Jasbir Singh Bains to Dartmouth Park of West Bromwich in the West Midlands in the middle of the night, where he slit his throat and flung his body into the water, the Mirror reported on Sunday.

Bains was found floating November 28 in 2012 by a passerby.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the killer, who is also known as Jamie Rai, plotted to execute the 41-year-old victim after stealing his identity for an insurance payout.

He took out the life insurance policy worth 319,000 pounds later.

Phone records showed that Rai invited Bains to the park on the night of his death.

A jury also heard how a CCTV camera outside Rai's home on Salisbury Road, which usually remained in a static position, changed angles on the night of the murder - something that could not have been a coincidence.

Bains was homeless and struggling with drink and drugs at the time of his death.

Rai was also jailed for 18 months for negligent driving in 2011.

He targeted his friend just after completing the 18-month sentence in Scotland.

Raju Gurbaksh Singh, 28, died after being hit by Rai in Scotland July 27, 2010.

Rai was last week sentenced to life, with a minimum of 27 years imprisonment, with a further four-and-half years sentence to run concurrently for three fraud offences.