Sikh murder £20,000 reward offer

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A £20,000 reward has been offered to help police find the murderer of a father-of-five.

Mehar Singh Kataria, 68, was brutally killed in his own home in Byron Avenue, Newham, east London, on 3 February.

He suffered massive blows to the head and detectives have revealed he was covered with a cloth and repeatedly stabbed once he was dead.

There was no sign of break-in and police believe Mr Kataria may have known his killers.

Det Ch Insp Carl Mehta said investigators are puzzled by the stabbings once Mr Kataria was clearly dead.

He said as Mr Kataria lay dead on the floor, the suspects took a nearby tablecloth and placed it over Mr Kataria's head down to his waist.

Knowing that he was murdered for no obvious reason, with such brutality, is agonising Rimpy Bhatia, victim's daughter

"Through this cloth he was stabbed several times in the upper body, even though, I believe, the killer(s) knew Mr Kataria was already dead," he said.

The reward is being offered by the Metropolitan Police, who want to trace two men of Indian appearance seen in the area a number of times before and on the day Mr Kataria was murdered.

They have not established a motive for the murder and are appealing to the Asian and Sikh communities for information.

'Tower of strength'

Det Ch Insp Mehta said Mr Kataria's family are still "devastated" by his death.

"It is with great frustration that my inquiry has come to this stage and Mr Kataria's family have to wait for justice," he said.

Mr Kataria's youngest daughter, Rimpy Bhatia, 31, described her father as a "tower of strength".

"The thought of someone touching him is unbearable but knowing that he was murdered for no obvious reason, with such brutality, is agonising," she said.

"I need closure, my life is on hold knowing his killers are out there, knowing they are still living and my Daddy isn't."