Court Hears London Imam Shouted ‘Sister F*cker, Child of a Pimp’ as he Ran Over and Killed Man Lying in Road

Imam Qari Abassi claims he believed Harvinder Singh was a discarded briefcase or dustbin lying in the road when he ran over his head as he drove to mosque in London, a court has heard.

A man was killed and two men who were trying to protect him believed they had to jump out of the road “to save their lives” as a speeding motorist tried to drive to a London mosque to early lead morning prayers on the 4th of May 2021.

Court News reports the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, was shown dashcam footage of the moment Imam Qari Abassi ran over Harvinder Singh, who was lying unconscious in the middle of the street. Per the report, the court heard audio of Abassi shouting “Sister fucker, child of a pimp, your mother’s pussy of you sister fucker Gandoo, sister fucker” as the car drove over Singh. In Urdu, gandoo or gandu is a derogatory term for a man who receives anal sex.

Here's Iman Qari Abassi, who ran over and killed a man who was lying in the road – then continued on to a prayer service at his mosque. After the incident his dashcam recorded him shouting in Urdu ‘Sister f****r, child of a pimp, your mother’s p***y' and 'gandoo' (a sodomised… pic.twitter.com/fjnq29G1Kd

— CourtNewsUK (@CourtNewsUK) January 9, 2024

Two men had been trying to protect Singh and were directing traffic around him while they waited for the arrival of the emergency services. The Old Bailey heard allegations that Abassi, however, drove straight at them instead. He told the court he believed they were drunks or otherwise unfriendly. The men had told the court they had to jump aside “to save their lives” from the oncoming car.

Singh was struck in the head and chest by the car as he lay in the road and died from his injuries.

Abassi said his verbal outburst was at the two men who had jumped clear, not at the man lying in the road, who he believed was a “bin or briefcase or something”. He told the court through an Urdu interpreter that: “I was going on my way and these people are making gestures with their hands and I didn’t know. I was a bit angry about why they are doing this to me. I am just going on my way… When people ask you to stop and you don’t know those people, you don’t stop for that reason.”

Per Court News, Abassi accepted he had been driving over the speed limit but did not ultimately accept that he had done anything wrong, and denies causing death by careless driving.