A 12-year-old girl has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of an elderly grandfather who was allegedly attacked in a park near his home.
The defendant is the second person to face charges over the death of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli.
The schoolgirl, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of her age, appeared at Leicester Youth Court, sitting at Leicester Magistrates’ Court. She spoke only to confirm her name, address and date of birth during the brief hearing.
She was released on unconditional bail and is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on Feb 3 next year for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
A 15-year-old boy has previously been charged with Mr Kohli’s murder and is due to enter a plea at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday.
That defendant, who was 14 at the time of the victim’s death on Sept 2, cannot be named either.
Mr Kohli, a devoted family man and father-of-three, was allegedly attacked as he was walking his dog in Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicester, at about 6.30pm and was seconds away from home. He died in hospital the following day.
Leicestershire Police said a postmortem examination found that the keen gardener died as a result of a neck injury, pending further tests.
Following his death, an investigation was launched and four other children – a girl aged 14 and one boy and two girls aged 12 – were arrested on suspicion of murder, but were released with no further action.
Police then charged one of the female suspects with the lesser charge of manslaughter last week.
‘His life was centred around his family’
Mr Kohli’s devastated family have described him as a “loving, caring person”, whose life “centred around his family”.
He loved to tend to his allotment plots, and enjoyed walking his dog Rocky at the park “many times a day”.
The pensioner had lived in the same house, in the residential suburb south of Leicester city, for 40 years.
In a tribute previously released by police, his family said: “Bhim loved to laugh. He was always very happy and talkative, the joker of the family and always loved to outsmart us with a smile.
“Bhim was a loving husband, dad and grandad. He was also a son, brother and uncle. He adored his grandkids with all his heart and loved spending time with them.
“He really was such a loving, caring person whose life was centred around his family.”
They added: “He has always been a very hard-working man and even at the age of 80 he was still very active.
“He was very well known in the community – we have been overwhelmed by the messages and support from many who knew him.
“Our hearts have been completely broken. We are now pulling together as a family to try and support each other through the most difficult time imaginable and would ask for privacy while we do this.”
The force said they had made a voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to prior contact with the victim.
After further contact with the watchdog, they have now made a mandatory referral.
