Valentine’s Day murder trial: Restaurant manager “mowed down”

The horrific scene unfolded before the eyes of a witness who looked out of the window after hearing a loud bang and saw a man get out of a Range Rover, walk to the front of the car and “hit something on the ground with force” before speeding away.

When the witness went to investigate the incident, he found 36-year-old Vignesh Pattabi-Raman lying on the side of the road with a “pool of blood” dripping from his head.

The victim was hospitalized but died in the early hours of February 15, 2024.

Two men, 24-year-old Shazeb Khalid and 27-year-old Soiheem Hussain, are on trial accused of orchestrating and carrying out the brutal murder, with Khalid carrying out the murder on Hussain's orders.

A pregnant woman, 20-year-old Mya Reilly, is also accused of helping her then-boyfriend Khalid and destroying incriminating evidence.

Although the motive remains unclear, the prosecutor told jurors that Mr Raman's murder followed immediately after he quit his job at The Vel South Indian Kitchen and Bar in downtown Reading after being offered a management position at a luxury eatery in Mayfair.

Prosecutor Sally Howes, opening the case at Reading Crown Court, told the jury: “February 15 should have been Mr Raman's last day at work. He did not live long enough to see it.”

“The fatal collision between the vehicle, which was a Range Rover Evoque, and Vignesh Raman on his bicycle was not an unfortunate accident.

“This was a well-planned, well-coordinated, premeditated and targeted attack involving both Shazeb Khalid and Soiheem Hussain, and both are guilty of the murder of Vignesh Pattabi-Raman.”

The court was told that Mr Raman, who has “put his heart and soul into his work” at The Vel South Indian Kitchen and Bar, moved to the UK from India with his wife in December 2022.

In the weeks before his violent death, Mr Raman submitted his resignation after being offered a new job at the Hyatt Regency luxury restaurant and hotel in London.

On the night of Valentine's Day this year, Mr Raman had just closed the restaurant and was cycling back to his home in Whitley Street, Reading, when he was hit by a Range Rover in Addington Road.

Prosecutor Howes told jurors that the noise of the collision caught the attention of a local resident who immediately went to the window to see what was happening.

She said: “The collision between the Range Rover and Vignesh Raman occurred at a location on Addington Road that is not captured by CCTV.”

“However, a witness who lives in a property overlooking Addington Road heard the sound of an impact at about quarter to midnight.

“When he looked out the window, he saw a car that looked like it was partially parked on the sidewalk, very close to the trees that lined the street.

“He saw the face of a person exiting through the driver's door and taking two or three steps toward the front of the vehicle. He describes the movement he saw as 'purposeful.'

“The witness then saw the figure standing in front of the hood, leaning in front of the vehicle and apparently hitting something on the ground “violently” three times. This lasted only seconds.”

“The driver got back into his vehicle, the engine roared, put it in reverse and then sped off with screeching tires.”

The jury heard the witness, then went outside to investigate and heard a groaning sound coming from “something on the floor.”

Prosecutor Howes told the jury: “This 'something' was a man and his bicycle, thrown together in a jumbled heap. He was unconscious, his breathing was labored and there were gurgling noises.”

Emergency services were called and Mr Raman was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital where he sadly passed away at 1.39am on 15 February.

An autopsy later determined that Mr Raman had died from a severe head injury which jurors heard “may have been caused by a car wheel running over his head or possibly by a collision between two surfaces, such as between a car part and a tree”.

The subsequent police investigation revealed that there had been numerous exchanges of messages between Khalid and Hussain on the night of the alleged murder. For example, on the eve of Valentine's Day, just hours before Raman's death, Khalid had sent his then-girlfriend Mya Reilly a text message reading “I have a mission later”.

Footage from nearby surveillance cameras also showed Khalid driving the Range Rover in circles around The Vel restaurant, where Mr Raman worked, before following the manager on his way home.

The prosecutor told jurors that Khalid admitted he was the driver of the Range Rover on the night of February 14, but claimed he had no intention of killing Mr Raman.

She said, “It was he who drove his car into Vignesh Raman's bike and pushed him off the road, causing him to die.”

“At an earlier hearing before this Court, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Vignesh Raman.

“But the prosecution is of the opinion that Shazeb Khalid did not act alone. He acted on the orders of Soiheem Hussain. Khalid had no connection to Vignesh Raman – Soiheem Hussain did.”

The court heard that Hussain knew the Indian restaurant where Mr Raman worked and was a “close friend” of Mohammed Sadiq Ishmail, the Vel's operations manager, who had flown to Bahrain from the UK ten days before the alleged murder.

Ms Reilly, Khalid's girlfriend at the time, is accused of providing a “safe house” for the alleged killer to stay in after Mr Raman's death.

The 20-year-old woman, who is in the third trimester of her pregnancy, is said to have helped Khalid destroy items of clothing he was wearing on the night of Mr Raman's death, as well as his phone.

Khalid was arrested on suspicion of murder on February 19 and Reilly was arrested the next day.

Khalid, previously of Engineers Court in Reading, Berkshire, denies a charge of murder. However, he admitted a charge of manslaughter.

Hussain, of Rossby in Shinfield, Reading, was arrested on February 29 and also denies a charge of murder.

Ms Reilly, of Chiltern Gardens in Woodcote, Oxfordshire, denies one count of aiding and abetting the crime and another of perverting the course of justice.

The process continues.