THE brother of a waiter shot dead in an Orkney restaurant 14 years ago told a court yesterday he could think of no reason why anyone would want to kill him.
Abul Shafuddin, 63, a barrister, was giving evidence at the trial of Michael Ross, 29, who is accused of murdering Shamsuddin Mahmood at the Mumutaz Indian Tandoori restaurant in Kirkwall on 2 June, 1994.
The High Court in Glasgow was told t
hat 26-year-old Shamsuddin – known as Shamol – had gained a BA degree in Bangladesh, but had not been interested in studying to become a barrister, as his brother had wished.
He left his brother's home in Southampton and moved to Orkney, where he got a job in a restaurant.
Mr Shafuddin was asked by Brian McConnachie, QC, prosecuting: "Can you think why anyone would want to kill him?"
He replied: "No idea. No reason."
Ross, of Inverness, is accused of entering the Mumutaz restaurant in Bridge Street, Kirkwall, with his face masked and shooting Shamsuddin Mahmood in the head.
He is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by changing his clothing and disposing of the weapon, and faces two charges of breach of the peace, relating to alleged incidents in Orkney in May 1994.
Ross, who was only 15 at the time of the alleged murder, denies all charges and has lodged a special defence of alibi, claiming he was nowhere near the Indian restaurant, or Kirkwall's town centre, but was cycling in another part of Orkney at the time of the shooting.
Mr Shafuddin told the court that his brother had a girlfriend in Bangladesh whom he believed he wanted to marry. He said his brother came to UK after "having a fight with friends in connection with this girl, who was a medical student".
Speaking of his brother's death, he told Mr McConnachie: "It was a big shock for the family. We lost our brother, and it took a long time to come to terms with it."
Under cross-examination by Donald Findlay, QC, defending, Mr Shafuddin admitted having told the police at the time that his brother had a girlfriend in Orkney, and that she was a local girl. He told police that he thought she was someone of "easy virtue".
Mr Shafuddin, who was an immigration lawyer in London, said he did not remember saying that, but, if he had said it at the time, it would be accurate.
He added that he only suspected that his brother had a girlfriend and did not know for sure.
Mr Shafuddin also admitted that his brother had loaned him £3,200 to help with renovations at his home in London.
He initially said he had no direct contact with his brother while he was in Orkney, then changed his mind later in evidence and admitted he had seen his brother in England two to three months before his death.
They had had an argument about Shamol's studies and land left by their father.
The court was told that Mr Shafuddin was in Bangladesh when he heard that his brother had been murdered.
The trial, before Lord Hardie, continues.
The full article contains 538 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
