The son of a 'peaceful' and 'loving' Sikh leader left lying in a pool of his own blood after being brutally attacked in the street by a thug who went for a pint afterwards has spoken about his family's unthinkable pain.
Gurdas Singh, 26, said his life was 'turned upside down' by the shocking assault, which saw his father Avtar Singh repeatedly punched and knocked to the ground by Claudio Campos - a complete stranger. Campos, 28, was sentenced to three years at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday (October 6) for the callous attack on Tib Street on June 23.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , Gurdas spoke of the impact Campos' actions have had on his family. He said said it was 'frustrating' and 'disgusting' that his father remains in hospital with life-changing injuries, while Campos could be released half-way through his sentence on licence.
"If anything, my dad is the one with the life sentence here," he said. "That’s not justice at all. This will be life-long for my dad. He is still in hospital and that man will be free in so many months.
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"He [Campos] is allowed to walk around and eat properly - my dad can’t do that anymore. He has 24-hour care and will need it for a long time, if not for life."
Avtar, 62, he was rushed to hospital following the attack. He was diagnosed with a severe, traumatic brain injury; a number of bleeds on the brain; and multiple facial fractures. He remains there to this day.
Gundar described the first few weeks following the assault as 'horrible'. His family didn't know whether Avtar would pull through.
"He wasn’t conscious for so long," medical student Gundar said. "There were instances where he lost oxygen, and they were doing procedures that I know about, where if it goes wrong, you’ve only got about 10 seconds before the person dies.
"We were crying constantly. Nothing that happened to him was his fault."
Avtar has since regained consciousness, but still requires round-the-clock care. His family knows that could be the case for the rest of his life. Avtar - a 'selfless' man - is still always thinking of others, even in his current condition, Gurdas said.
"He'll ask the staff at the hospital if they're okay," he added. "He's just that type of person, he never puts himself before anybody else. Even just a few days ago, we had somebody knock on our door and burst into tears, telling us how much he means to them. He'd walk into Manchester and would always be recognised by somebody."
Gurdas said the assault was 'even more shocking' because his father was such an 'outstanding' person - describing him as a 'loving' father who loved to walk the family's dogs, always supported himself and his sisters, and would be the first to be asked to perform prayers at a family wedding.
"He inspired you. He came to this country over 30 years ago to get a better life for his family in India," he told the M.E.N. "He would never think of himself first. He is just so peaceful. There is a sense of pride being able to talk about your father like that."
The impact of his father's assault has had lasting implications for the family. Gurdas said he now wears a cap instead of a turban in town to avoid unwanted attention, and tries not to go into the city centre.
"He [Campos] didn’t see my dad as a human being because if he did, no way would he have done what he did… no way would he have left him for dead," Gurdas said.
Campos denied that the motivations for the attack had anything to do with the fact that Avtar was wearing a turban.
After coming face-to-face with his father's attacker in court, Gurdas said he had 'no respect' for Campos, but tried to spend as little energy on him as possible.
"Me having any energy for him takes away from the energy I have for my dad," he said. "I don’t spend any time thinking about him. It was just so pathetic. He wouldn’t look us in the eyes in court. He didn’t hang his head in shame. He just kept talking to the translator, he was just so nonchalant.
"I looked at him, but I could see he didn’t care."
Gurdas said Campos' sentence 'doesn't bring any comfort' to his family, who are still struggling to sleep and function in their work and social lives. The family visit Avtar in hospital daily - something that Gurdas said was particularly difficult following the sentencing.
"Seeing my dad today it’s just…a lot," he told the M.E.N. "You try to normalise your life, but we knew even walking out of the courtroom yesterday that we are going to be living with this."
Campos, of Ladybarn Lane, Fallowfield was charged following a public CCTV by Greater Manchester Police. When police turned up to arrest him on September 7, they discovered a fully-packed suitcase on top of a cupboard.
In his interview, Campose accused Mr Singh of ‘touching his girlfriend’s bottom’ and claimed that he punched him as a result.
CCTV footage shown at Manchester Crown Court showed Campos walking with his girlfriend along Hilton Street and Mr Singh, who was making his way home from work, passing them. Campos then gestured towards Mr Singh and started following him towards Tib Street.
Realising that he was being followed, Mr Singh tried to get away but Campos sped up and punched him twice to the side of the face. While grabbing the back of Mr Singh’s shirt, Campos then punched him for a third time, knocking him to the ground.
Campos was dragged down as Mr Singh fell, but got back up and fled the scene, briefly stopping to look back. He then re-joined his girlfriend and went to Ancoats bar Second City, where card transactions show that he bought a burger and a beer.
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