A MAN who evaded capture for 17 years following a murder in Hayes in 1996 was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.

Kiranjit Uppal, 37, of no fixed abode was found guilty of the murder of Harminder Singh Jhaghra.

Uppal fled the UK in the days following Harminder's murder but was arrested a year ago after arriving on a flight to Heathrow from India.

He will be sentenced tomorrow (Thursday) at the same court Det Chief Insp Charles King said: "For almost 18 years, Uppal thought he had got away with murdering Harminder Singh Jhaghra and had been living a relatively comfortable life in India.

"The events of that fateful day have left a profound effect on Harminder's family.”

The court heard about a clash between rival groups from Cranford and Southall, which resulted in Harminder's death.

Two associates of Uppal were set upon in Bath Road, Cranford by a group from the Southall area.

Word spread rapidly and arrangements were made for the Cranford group to meet at a car park in North Hyde Road.

They made their way to a minicab office in Southall, where they came across a then 15-year-old boy playing an amusement game with a friend.

Several of the group attacked the boy, who sustained severe cuts to the head and a broken elbow.

A phone call was made to Harminder, who was part of the Southall group, and he arrived at the minicab offices with others from the group.

A short while later, some of the Cranford group, armed with weapons, hid in a wooded area in Watersplash Lane. The remainder of group waited in a car park for the Southall group to arrive, to entice them into the wooded area.

A fight ensued and Harminder was stabbed in his arm. He managed to run away and flagged down a passing motorist who took him to a nearby petrol station. An ambulance was called and Harminder was taken to hospital where he later died.

In their haste to get away, the Cranford group discarded a number of the weapons and clothing they were wearing during the attack.

Some of the items, including the clothing Uppal was wearing, were later recovered by officers, though the murder weapon was never found. Items of clothing were later forensically linked to Uppal.

By then, he had boarded a flight on a one-way ticket bound for Delhi.