Gian Chand Bajar

London, May 30: Closed-circuit television is to be installed in cabs in Gravesend, an area of Kent with a high Indian population, following the murder of 71-year-old Sikh driver Gian Chand Bajar.

This has been announced today by chief superintendent Gary Beautridge, area commander for North Kent, who said that as a result of Bajar’s murder, CCTV would be installed over the coming months.

In the past, Indian taxi drivers have often complained that police took little or no action when they reported being intimidated or assaulted by aggressive or drunk passengers.

On May 23 last year, Luke Aujila, 20, punched and knocked down Bajar and then deliberately ran him over with his own taxi.

Sentencing him to life at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Andrew Patience QC told Aujila that he would have to serve 20 years before he would be considered for parole.

Since Aujila has been on remand for nearly a year, it means he will spend “a minimum of 18 years and 363 days in prison” before he is eligible for parole.

Aujila showed no emotion, most probably because he was unable to comprehend that he will be 41 when he comes out in 2028.

Although in a moment of madness he has destroyed his own life and that of Bajar and his extended family — the victim leaves behind a widow, three daughters, two sons and three grandchildren — Aujila represents problems associated with the disintegration of parts of British society.

It is unlikely he had a stable family background. His mother Annette and brother Thomas will appear at Maidstone Crown Court tomorrow for sentencing after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. This probably means they tried to cover up the youth’s crime.

Judge Patience said Aujila took advantage of Bajar’s “gentle, mild-mannered” nature and his vulnerable position as a taxi driver working a night shift.

He said: “What you did was cold, callous and cruel. In short, it was utterly wicked.”

Although only 20 at the time of his arrest, Aujila had 12 previous convictions, including that of assaulting a number of police officers.

During trial, jurors heard that on the night of the incident, Aujila had gone out drinking. His behaviour had become increasingly aggressive as he bragged to his companions about fights he had been involved in and demanded that a middle-aged man hand over his cash to him.

Aujila went on to meet a woman whom he vaguely knew and asked her for sex but after she snubbed his advances, he smashed a glass on the ground. Towards the end of the evening he became involved in a disturbance at a block of flats.

It was from this area that Aujila was picked up at 10pm by Bajar who drove his passenger to the lonely scene of the killing.

The taxi was later found abandoned and burnt out on a nearby service road. Aujila was arrested the next day and subsequently charged with murder, which he denied.

However, blood was found on his trainers and tracksuit bottoms and a broken Bacardi bottle he had stolen from a supermarket was found at the scene with his fingerprints.

Detective chief inspector Mick Atkinson, who led the police investigation, described Aujila’s actions as “unprovoked and mindless”.

“This was an unprovoked and mindless attack on a hardworking taxi driver who was a loved and respected key member of the local community in Gravesend,” he said. “I am pleased that the jury recognised the severity of this case and found Luke Aujila guilty of murder.”

The authorities recognise that Aujila, who should have been looking forward to a life in a country which attracts immigrants from all over the world, is as much a victim of the murder. The worrying feature of the crime is that today there are many Luke Aujilas all over Britain who are part of a growing underclass.

How they are to be rescued from a cycle of crime, educated and given hope is possibly the greatest challenge facing British society. When such youths come across immigrants who have worked hard and made a success of life in Britain it does not take much to trigger irrational rage.