Officers from Leicestershire have arrested a boy and a girl aged 14 and a boy and two girls aged 12 on suspicion of murder, and Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the watchdog over prior contact with the victim.
Kohli, a father of three and keen gardener, had reported a group of youths for anti-social behaviour after he told them off for sitting on a neighbour’s garage roof.
Graham Haldane, 55, said it had taken police three days to take a statement following the incident.
He added: “He was a lovely guy, but was getting very frail. He had osteoporosis and could hardly move his neck. He had three plots at the allotments and worked on them all year round.
“He had some bother a few months back with some kids who had climbed onto the flat garage roof opposite. He challenged them and they dished out some abuse and spat at him. He rang the police about it, but it took them three days to come around and take a statement.
“He was a frail guy and wasn’t a threat to anyone. I just can’t believe someone has had a dig at him.”
Before Kohli died, his daughter said he had been taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham because of the seriousness of his injuries, which she claimed had been caused when he was shoved to the ground and kicked.
She told LeicestershireLive: “They pushed him, they kicked him in the neck, kicked him in the spine. He’s been sent to QMC for surgery – it’s serious.”
She described how she heard neighbours outside and realised something was going on, rushing to the park to discover her father “lying under a tree”.
“He was about 30 seconds away from getting home when he was attacked,” she added. “He was lying under the tree and at first he was complaining about his neck and now he’s not able to move his legs.
“He’s always been very active – he has three allotments. We’ve lived here for 40 years, and just recently there’s been a lot of anti-social behaviour, which has been reported to the police.”
Kohli’s family also live in the area. He would walk his dog through the park, where youths would gather.
One neighbour of Kohli, who asked not to be named, said of a group of children who had been causing trouble on the street: “They’ve been playing up late at night. My friend said they were throwing stones at this Asian man.”
Another neighbour added: “The big rocks, the sort you would have on a driveway, they were throwing them at the same gentleman. It was a few nights before the incident, the same man.”
Neighbours described how maintaining three allotments, and his passion for gardening, kept Kohli “very active”, growing “amazing” vegetables.
Kerry Haldane, 55, a customer complaints manager who knew him from the allotments, said she had last seen him on Saturday as he tended to his vegetables with his dog.
“He was the most incredible individual,” she told The Daily Telegraph. “He would grow things that you wouldn’t always see on an English allotment, as he was Asian and they use different things in their cooking. We would swap things, he would grow chickpeas and we would give him artichokes.
“I cannot think of a single reason why anyone would not like him. He was such a lovely man. Quite often you would see him with his grandchildren at the allotment, and his wife would go down and help him. He always used to joke that his wife would get the rubbish jobs like the weeding.”
Deep Singh Kalia, 70, who had known Kohli for more than 30 years, said: “He was such a lovely guy. It is a horrible shock. I would meet up with him every day. We were both originally from the Punjab in India.
“He loved his allotment, and loved his dog, and loved his family. He used to own a factory that made jumpers and cardigans. I don’t know why anyone would have wanted to do something like this to him. He was just a very nice man who wouldn’t have done anything to provoke this.”
Harjinder, Kalia’s wife, added: “It is just awful. Bhim wouldn’t have harmed anyone.”
Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and launched a murder investigation.
An IOPC spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have received a referral from Leicestershire Police in relation to this matter. We will carry out an assessment in due course to decide what further action may be required from us.”
Detective Inspector Emma Matts, the senior investigating officer, said in a statement: “Sadly, following the death of the victim, this has now become a murder investigation.
“Officers are continuing to work at speed to establish the details of the attack, and we have made a number of arrests as we continue to understand what has happened.”
