"Such a waste of life" - no justice for family of Sheffield man killed delivering a curry

When he was a toddler, Safrajur Jahangir’s parents came close to losing him when he fell down the stairs at his family home, suffering two broken arms and two broken legs. He was lucky to survive.

His doting parents and loving family cherished the youngster, who grew up into a quick-witted, funny, charming young man.

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He was well known as the face of The Spice Hut on Middlewood Road, Hillsborough, which he ran as he developed into a capable businessman - working tirelessly in the takeaway every night - both in the shop and as a delivery driver.

But he was tragically robbed of his promising future when he was ambushed as he made a delivery.

His murder in August 2009 sent shockwaves across Sheffield.

Safrajur, lovingly known by his family as ‘Shaju’, was gunned down at point blank range as he pulled up on Scraith Wood Drive, Shirecliffe, to deliver a telephone order.

Nobody is behind bars for the gun attack, but the police theory over what happened is that a gunman was lying in wait to deliberately kill Safrajur.

Seven men accused of plotting the 2009 execution were cleared in court after the dramatic collapse of a nine-week trial.

With the 15th anniversary approaching this summer, the murder remains ‘unsolved’.

The trial of the original suspects collapsed with the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, criticising South Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for failing to disclose vital evidence to the defence team which he said had denied the defendants a fair trial.

The judge said the case collapse was “a disaster” for the criminal justice system.

The prosecution had alleged Safrajur had been lured to Shirecliffe through a bogus curry order and was shot dead by a hired hitman as part of a feud.

Speaking in the wake of Safrajur’s death to mark the first anniversary, one of his grieving brothers told The Star at the time: “I go to his grave most days to pray for peace for him and that justice will be done.”

He also urged people who carry guns to think about the devastation they cause.

He told The Star: “Shaju’s killer didn’t just destroy his life - the loss of my brother has impacted on everyone who knew him, and for his close family our lives will never be the same again.

“In just a split second, and for absolutely no reason whatsoever, my brother’s life was wiped out.

“If you mix in circles where you break the law and associate with people on that side of life you must know you are running the risk of getting hurt, but Shaju wasn’t like that.

“His death shows how things can change in an instant.

“I would ask anyone out there carrying a gun to think about how many lives they ruin by pulling the trigger.

“Gun crime was something we had only ever seen and heard about on TV - it’s something we knew nothing about until this.

“If Shaju had died some other way, in an accident, we would still have been devastated but in time we would have been able to come to terms with it and try to move on.

“But to have been shot dead is something we will never get over - it was such a waste of life.

“Until we get justice for him he will never be able to rest in peace.”

South Yorkshire Police can be contacted on 101.