Drug dealer Adam Abdallah jailed for life for murder of Kirpal Sanghera at junction of Radcliffe Road and Union Road

Adam Abdallah, 43, of Derby Road, will serve a minimum of 23 years after he admitted killing Kirpal Sanghera, 39, in September last year.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Mr Sanghera was discovered with knife wounds at the junction of Union Road and Radcliffe Road on September 18, and despite efforts to save him, he was declared dead at Southampton General Hospital in the early hours of September 19.

The incident was described by Judge Justice Dingeman as the latest fight in a “turf war over class A drugs”.

During the hearing, the court was shown CCTV footage of the fatal attack.

(Adam Abdallah)

It showed Abdallah chasing Mr Sanghera before falling to the ground.

Mr Sanghera was then stabbed multiple times despite trying to defend himself.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the court that one of the stab wounds had cut Mr Sanghera heart and that he would have bled rapidly.

She added that Abdallah fled the scene, getting a taxi which dropped him off near Victoria Station in London.

He called police on the day after the attack and admitted stabbing Mr Sanghera, but maintained it was in self-defence.

Katy Thorne, mitigating, said: “There was previous violence between the two.

"This isn’t a case of one person being entirely in the wrong and one person being in the right.

“Mr Abdallah was not an unkind man.”

She added that there was “evidence of a psychiatric illness”.

Sentencing Abdallah, the judge said:

“This was a sustained and brutal attack in which death was intended.

“I’m sure Mr Abdallah took at least one knife with him.”

After sentencing, Abdallah shouted from the dock: “I’m the victim, he attacked me, I have the right to defend myself,” before being dragged away.

During the hearing, Ms Maylin read out a number of victim impact statements from Mr Sanghera’s family, many of whom were in court.

His father, Gurdev Singh Sanghera, said: “My son was everything to me, my life has changed forever.

“I would do anything just to see my son and give him a hug.”

His mother, Jit Kaur Sanghera, added: “I will never again get a chance to see my son. My son’s killer and his family will still get that chance.”

The court also heard a statement from the mother of Mr Sanghera’s sons, Kirst Hopkinson, who said: “Our oldest is scared to go to sleep. They wonder if their daddy can see them from heaven.”

Ms Maylin said Abdallah has four previous convictions, including possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Abdallah had applied to have his guilty plea vacated, but this was refused by Judge Justice Dingeman prior to sentencing.