The father of a man stabbed to death after tackling two muggers in east London paid tribute to his "good and brave boy" today as his son's body was flown back to India for a family funeral.
Sukhwinder Singh, 31, a builder who had worked in Britain for 10 years, was killed after chasing two men who had snatched a woman's shoulder bag near a busy train station.
"He has left a huge hole," said his father, Pakhar Singh, who made the 5,000-mile journey from the family farm in rural Punjab to Barking in east London at the weekend. "He was a brave man, a good son, a good husband and a good father."
Sukhwinder had been planning to travel to the Punjab in June to meet his 10-year-old son, Gurinder, for the first time.
"He left India before his son was born and had not been back. They were both very excited about this meeting," said Sukhwinder's cousin, Harwinder. "Since this happened his son has been asking 'Where is Dad, where is Dad?'. Sukhwinder used to phone him twice a day."
Sukhwinder died after chasing two men who attacked a woman who was making her way home on 8 January. He caught one of the attackers near Barking station and officers think he was stabbed by one as he tried to restrain the other. He died at the Royal London hospital.
Sitting in the small front room of the first-floor flat Sukhwinder shared with his cousin, uncle and aunt, his father wept as he spoke about his son's death. "I am not surprised he went to help a stranger," said Pakhar. "That is the person he was, kind and brave, and it is a Sikh tradition to help anyone who needs it."
Sukhwinder sent money home each month to support his wife, son and parents at the family home. "He was not a confrontational sort of person so we were not worried he would get into any trouble," said Pakhar. "He was hard working and we were pleased he was getting on with his life."
Sukhwinder came from a farming family and grew up in a rural village in the Ludhiana area of Punjab. "He wanted to give his family a better life and he worked very hard here," said Harwinder.
The pair grew up in neighbouring villages and Sukhwinder had followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a farmer. When he turned 20 he began to consider moving overseas to give a better life for his family. For the past six years Sukhwinder shared a three-bedroom flat with Harwinder and his uncle and aunt in Barking. "It was tough for him because he was here without his family," said Harwinder. "He missed them terribly. He spoke to them every day on his mobile phone."
Harwinder was one of the first on the scene after the stabbing, and found his cousin unconscious in the snow.
A Sikh, Sukhwinder spent most of his spare time at the Sri Guru Singh Sabha temple near his flat. Sitting in the temple's office, Nirmal Singh Gill, a local councillor, said: "After he had been at work he used to come here and help us without being asked – he was a lovely young man."
