Murder-accused's father took knife 'for safety'

A man accused of hiding a knife after a fatal crash and a stabbing has told a jury he put it in the boot of his car for "safety reasons".

Mohammed Jhangur, 57, said he arrived at the scene in Burngreave, Sheffield, on 27 December 2023, shortly after Chris Marriott, 46, had been fatally struck by a car while trying to help a stranger.

Mr Jhangur's son, Hassan, is also on trial at Sheffield Crown Court, charged with murdering Mr Marriott and causing grievous bodily harm to four people when he drove his car into a crowd.

Mohammed Jhangur, of Whiteways Road, Sheffield, denies perverting the course of justice, telling jurors on Wednesday had he not taken the knife "somebody would've used it again".

Prosecutors previously told the court how the Jhangurs and the Khan family had been feuding over a wedding between their children Amaani Jhangur and Hasan Khan, which had taken place earlier that morning.

Later that day, the bride was at the Khan family home in College Court when her mother and sister arrived, the court heard, with violence breaking out in the street between the two families.

Mr Marriott, who had been out on a post-Christmas walk with his family, had stopped to help Nafeesa Jhangur when he saw her collapsed in the road.

Not long after, Hassan Jhangur drove his Seat Ibiza first into Riasat Khan and then into a group of people, including off-duty midwife Alison Norris and his own mother Ambreen and sister Nafeesa. Mr Marriott died at the scene.

Jurors heard the defendant then got out of his car and stabbed his new brother-in-law, Hasan Khan, several times.

Jhangur admitted causing serious injury to Alison Norris, Ambreen Jhangur, Nafeesa Jhangur and Riasat Khan by dangerous driving but denies four charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He denies murdering Mr Marriott and attempting to murder Hasan Khan and wounding him with intent.

Jhangur's father said he had driven to the scene after receiving a phone call telling him his daughter Nafeesa was not well.

"When I arrived it was just complete carnage, like a horror movie," he told jurors.

"I saw my daughter Nafeesa under the car."

Mr Jhangur said he initially thought his wife and daughter had died and then found his son Hassan Jhangur lying on the floor and bleeding from his head.

"I went to pick him up but then Hasan Khan swung his baseball bat at me," he said.

"I just managed to duck in time."

Mr Jhangur said he spotted a knife on the floor but denied saying "give me that knife, open your hand before anybody notices".

"The reason I picked it up was the safety of people around me," he said.

"If I didn't pick the knife up, somebody else would have picked it up and used the knife again."

Footage played on Monday, recorded Mr Jhangur telling police: "I don't know who put the knife in there, mate, I don't know, I don't know anything about the knife".

Asked if he accepted that was a lie, he said: "Maybe at that time it was not the truth.

"I was never in this situation before, I was not thinking right, I was not thinking straight, I had a lot of things on my mind."

The trial continues.

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