Man ‘lured’ to his Death after Messaging 17-year-old Girl

Three people have been jailed after they ‘lured’ a man to a Birmingham park and to his subsequent death after the victim had sent messages to a 17-year-old girl.

The victim, 29-year-old Sohail Ali, had contacted Rimsha Tariq, then aged 17, on Instagram on December 3, 2020.

The messages sent by Mr Ali became increasingly sexualised and aggressive.

Tariq showed the messages to her friend, Danish Mansha. He was encouraged to play along with Mr Ali.

At Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Simon Drew QC told Mansha:

“You formed a plan to lure Sohail Ali to Summerfield Park, in Winson Green where you intended to confront him with a knife, to stab him, and to seriously injure him.

“No doubt you intended to teach him a lesson, but your plan was entirely unjustified.

“You told Tariq of your plan, and you used your influence over her to persuade her to go along with it.”

After the meeting was set up, Mansha, Tariq and Daiyan Arif went to the park. Tariq then met with Mr Ali.

At one point, Mr Ali left the park. But Tariq persuaded him to come back.

Judge Drew continued: “By then you (Mancha) were close enough to surprise him, firing the pistol at him several times.

“It looked and sounded real and, no doubt terrified that he was being shot at, he went to the ground.

“That then enabled you to launch an attack on him with the knife. You stabbed him a total of 7 times.

“The final blow was inflicted with so much force that it fractured his breastbone and penetrated his heart.

“When the knife then lodged inside his chest you used so much force trying to remove it that you broke the handle off the knife.”

The judge said the incident had the hallmarks of “naivety and bravado”, rather than being a cold-blooded killing.

He stated that Mansha got carried away in the heat of the attack.

Judge Drew said: “Despite being fatally wounded Sohail Ali managed to get up and run away. So animated were you by this time that you shot at him with the blank firing pistol.”

“On the way, the two of you performed a fist bump, which confirms that when you attacked Sohail Ali you were acting together and that afterwards you had no remorse for what you had just done.

“This was an offence committed whilst on bail. It was a premeditated and carefully planned attack. Sohail Ali was deliberately lured to Summerfield Park.

“You took the lead, and you recruited both Tariq and Arif to help you. Tariq was a vulnerable young woman who you manipulated at will.

“You deliberately tried to hide your identity; you had your hood up, you wore gloves, and you had a mask covering your face.

“You ambushed Sohail Ali. You fired the gun in order to frighten him, and then attacked him when he was unarmed and defenceless on the ground.

“You did so in a public park, in the middle of the day in front of a number of passers-by.”

“After the attack, you left the park, you did not call the emergency services but instead left Sohail Ali to die.”

Mansha and Tariq were both convicted of murder while Arif was convicted of manslaughter.

Mark George QC, for Mansha, said:

“He made an arrangement to meet Mr Ali in the park and that is the extent of the planning.”

He added that Mansha was immature and came from an unsettled family background.

Mansha, aged 18, of Edgbaston, must serve a minimum jail term of 19 years.

Tariq, aged 18, of Walsall, will serve at least nine years before being considered for parole.

Arif, aged 18, of Warley, was sentenced to three and a half years detention.