Father in attempted murder trial tells of men who kidnapped him to find his son
Father of Prashant Govinde, Govinde Ramgi, stated the kidnapping occurred after his son ran away with his girlfriend.
The case involves a teenager who had her throat cut after trying to escape an arranged marriage by eloping with her lover. 17-year-old Darshana Narotam along with her 22-year-old boyfriend Prashant Govinde and an accompanying 15 year old, were all injured in the violent attack.
The attacker was 26-year-old Bharat Soma, the teenager’s promised husband.
Ramgi said that Narotam’s father and a group of other men came to his home demanding to know where Govinde was.
He told the jury the men were very aggressive, one of the assailants Harshad Jagdish started shouting at him.
“I said I didn’t know where Prashant was,” said Ramgi.
Jagdish then asked for Govinde’s bank statements before searching the house. They demanded Ramgi go with them to a Barclays Bank in Wembley.
The prosecution alleges he was kidnapped and taken to the bank against his will in order to discover where and when Govinde had withdrawn money, so they could find the lovers.
Ramgi said Narotam’s father and Jagdish entered the bank whilst the others waited outside.
Jagdish reportedly asked for details about Prashant’s withdrawals but the staff refused to give any information.
The men then let Mr Ramgi go and he went home, the court was told. The men behind this incident deny all charges.
Soma carried out the knife attack after receiving information on the couple’s whereabouts.
He attacked them, including an accompanying teenager, with a three-and-a-half inch kitchen paring-knife.
The trial continues.
