Samurai 'beheading' gang jailed

Four of the gang members were jailed for life for attempted murder

Seven men have been jailed for an attack in which four of them tried to behead a man using samurai swords.

The gang members, from Newham, east London, ambushed a group of six men in Alperton, north London, in August 2006.

Armed with swords, pickaxe handles and pieces of wood, four tried to behead a 20-year-old man, the Old Bailey heard.

The four were sentenced to life for attempted murder. Two others were found guilty of grievous bodily harm and all seven were guilty of violent disorder.

The court heard the seven armed Tamil gang members carried out the attack in Braemar Avenue on 28 August 2006.

The unnamed 20-year-old was struck on the head with a bottle.

When the victim fell to the ground, Kirubananathrada Gunaratam, Santhurajah Thavapalasingham, Sabesan Sivaneswaran and Aramugan Paratheeban attempted to behead him.

The 20-year-old used a cricket bat to defend himself but his left arm was partially severed in the attack.

All seven were found guilty of violent disorder

The gang fled when police arrived at the scene.

Gunaratam, 32, and Thavapalasingham, 21, were sentenced to life for attempted murder, to serve a minimum of 12 years.

Sivaneswaran, 20, and Paratheeban, 24, were also sentenced to life for attempted murder, to serve a minimum of eight and nine-and-a-half years respectively.

Edward Jeganathan, 26, and Selvarajah Mayuran, 28, were sentenced to nine and five years respectively for grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

Santosh Panthaplavil-Sasidharan, 26, was imprisoned for three years for violent disorder.

Det Insp Andy Chalmers said: "The fact that they been removed from the Tamil community and cannot continue to taint and intimidate the law-abiding majority can only be good for the community as a whole."

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