Channel 4 has announced a new true crime drama based on the horrifying murder of TV executive Gagandip Singh, who was beaten unconscious and left to die in a burning car in south-east London. The 21-year-old was found dead in the boot of a blue Mercedes in Blackheath in 2011.
Details of the Crime
Harvinder Shoker was jailed for life in 2012 with a minimum of 22 years for the murder. He and Darren Peters beat Mr Singh unconscious and bundled him into the boot of the car, which was then set on fire. The killing is the subject of the upcoming drama titled Vengeance: Murder On The Heath, which draws on police interviews, text messages, court documents, and original interviews, according to Channel 4.
The Luring and Attack
Mr Singh was lured to the scene of the attack by then 19-year-old medical student Mundill Mahil. During the trial, it emerged that Mr Singh allegedly tried to rape Mahil six months before his death. Mahil confided in Shoker, known as Ravi, about the attempted sex attack, and he recruited Peters to help in the plot against Mr Singh. Mahil lured Mr Singh to her university house in Brighton, pretending she wanted to talk to him. Unbeknownst to him, Shoker and Peters were lying in wait in the bedroom, where he was viciously beaten.
Cast and Production
The drama will star British Asian actors including Sasha Desouza-Willock (Adult Material) as Mahil, Dee Ahluwalia (Buddha Of Suburbia) as Gagandip Singh, Ikky Kabir (Bait) as Harvinder 'Ravi' Shoker, and Safiyya Ingar (The Witcher) as Amandipkaur Singh. The Halcyon's Heart Films production will be written and directed by Bafta winner Aysha Rafaele and produced by Meeshan Saxena and Arzoo Patankar.
Director's Statement
Rafaele said: "As a British Asian filmmaker with a background in documentaries, I am fascinated by real stories from our community that are both specific to the culture but also resonate well beyond it. Everything about the shocking murder of Gagandip Singh and the circumstances surrounding it was to prove extraordinary. How young everyone involved in the case was, how an accusation of attempted rape led to these young people taking the law into their own hands – playing at being God themselves – instead of just going to the police, and how this vigilante-style justice backfired so horrifically."
Channel 4's Perspective
Shaminder Nahal, head of specialist factual at Channel 4, said: "This powerful and gripping series takes us straight into the hearts and minds of a group of young people navigating a messy world of blurred lines, fear, shame and violence. Aysha Rafaele, who has created and contributed to an astonishing body of work at Channel 4, brings her unique vision and storytelling to an urgent series that asks big questions about modern Britain, what justice means and whether revenge can ever be justified."
Sentencing
Peters was sentenced to 12 years for Mr Singh's manslaughter, while Mahil was handed six years for grievous bodily harm.
