Two men found guilty over violence at Kabaddi sporting event in Derby

Guns fired and swords drawn as violence escalates at Kabaddi sporting event

Two men have been found guilty of violent disorder as two rival groups caused "serious disturbance" among hundreds of people watching a Kabaddi tournament in Alvaston.

People had gathered to watch the tournament in a field off Elvaston Lane in Derby, which took place on the afternoon of Sunday 20 August.

Footage of the area shown to the jury showed large crowds gathered around the event ring.

At around 4pm, police were called by spectators after a serious disturbance was taking place and shots had been fired.

The fight had been pre-planned with a group meeting in Brunswick Street, Derby, beforehand.Parminder Singh was one of those who attended the pre-meeting and was captured on drone footage wearing a face covering and with his hood up.

He was also seen to move towards a hedge between two fields at the scene, with police later locating a shoulder bag in the area which contained a loaded semi-automatic pistol.

His DNA was found on both the pistol and the bag. He was hit by a bullet in the groin during the incident and had to have it removed during surgery at hospital.

The 25-year-old, of the West Midlands, has been convicted of violent disorder and possession of a firearm.Malkeet Singh was part of the other group, and was also involved with the violence before he was then assaulted and suffered injuries to his head. The 24-year-old, of Court Road, Wolverhampton, has been convicted of violent disorder.

Two groups of men posing as spectators had firearms, knives, swords and bats and were wearing face masks and scarves around their faces.

Spectators were seen running for cover after the two groups shot at each other.

Some of the men in each group sustained injuries, including a skull fracture, lacerations and gunshot wounds.

During the trail at Derby Crown Court, the jury was shown more than 20 weapons that were recovered, and were allowed to handle some of them including the two guns.

More video was shown which showed Melkeet Singh wielding a bat in each hand.

One of the men who has already pleaded guilty, Karamjit Singh from Sinfin, was hit in the groin by a bullet.

The jury was told Malkeet Singh and Melkeet Singh, together with others, were in group A and the West Midlands man was in group B with other men.

A semi-automatic gun was found in a bag in a gap in the hedge which had the West Midlands man's DNA on the zip and on the muzzle.

Group B met before the event at a community centre in Brunswick Street, Derby, and footage of that meeting was also shown to the jury.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Croome, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: "What should have been a pleasant day out for people attending a sporting event turned into a huge violent disorder in which multiple people were injured."We know that this incident and the subsequent police investigation had a huge impact on people living in the area as well as those spectators who had attended and we are very grateful to all who have helped with our enquiries."Detective Constable Stevie Barker, who led the investigation, added: "Hundreds of officers have assisted with this investigation, not just from Derbyshire, but across the country, and I would like to thank them for their work to assist with bringing justice for such a huge disorder.

"Malkeet Singh and Parminder Singh showed a blatant disregard for the safety of others during this event so I am pleased they have now been convicted for their part in this very disturbing incident."

Superintendent Rebecca Webster, Head of Operations for South Division, said: "We know that the vast majority of people who attended this event did so with good intentions to enjoy a fun family day out.

"Sadly this was spoiled when a number of people - many of whom travelled from across the country – arrived with the intention of causing serious harm and disorder to others.

"This was clearly a very distressing and upsetting incident for all those present on the day and we’d like to thank them for their co-operation throughout this investigation, as well as praise the local community for their support in the days and weeks that followed as we know it did have a significant ongoing impact on them."

What is Kabaddi?

Kabaddi is a team contact sport, usually played by members of seven people. Also known as Kaudi, the objective of the game is for a single player, named the "raider", to lead the offence by running into the opposing team's half of the court.

Their goal is to "touch out" as many of their players and return to their own team’s half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders on the other team in 30 seconds.

Each team will score points for every player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider.

Derby Kabaddi has been holding tournaments for about 40 years.

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