Kidnap victim's evidence questioned in trial of Kingston University students

Receptionist Vrajesh Yadav, from east London, claimed five Kingston University students held him captive and beat him throughout the day at a maisonette flat in Robin Hood Way on November 28, last year.

Mohammed Afzal, 22, from Walsall, Ebrahim Hassan Shaikh, 19, of Wood Street, Kingston, and Rayad Mohammed Miah, 22, from Birmingham all deny robbery, kidnap, attempted robbery and attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.

Gasim Gasim, 22, of Burnham Street, Kingston, denies false imprisonment, attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm while Sooraj Noori, 20, of King Henry’s Road, Kingston, denies false imprisonment, attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm and kidnapping.

Giving evidence behind a screen at Kingston Crown Court today, Mr Yadav told the courtroom his ordeal only ended when he managed to convince some of the men to take him to East Ham, where he could give them £1,000 in cash, but instead managed to get away.

He said: “They beat me continuously throughout the day. They were in control of the situation – they were telling me what to do.

“I am pretty much saying anything I can for me to get out of this address.”

But Tom Horder, defending Mr Noori, said he had given conflicting accounts about the weapons used in the assault.

He told him: “You are making this up as you go along. You are telling people different things at different times.”

Ben Hargreaves, defending Mr Miah, asked Mr Yadav whether the belt used to whip his back, legs and face, as he had claimed, had been leather but the witness did not remember.

Mr Hargreaves then produced a metal belt, which Mr Yadav recognised as the one allegedly used, and smacked the table with it.

He said: “You were not clearly and obviously hit by that belt because there are no injuries that would accord with such violence at all.

"Doctors say there were no injuries to your back, back of legs.

“I suggest that you have exaggerated the injuries that you suffered. Any injuries that you did suffer were as a result of a fist fight between you and Ebrahim.

“When you got back to the stairs of the flat you were not poked or prodded or frog marched. You and him had a fight – a fist fight. He struck you in the face and caused your nose to bleed – that’s why there is blood on the floor, blood in the bathroom.

“You are not a friend. You just sell him dope. You don’t care about him.”

Jurors were shown a hooded top worn by Mr Yadav that had numerous spots of blood on it.

The students and My Yadav are said to have had pizzas, played video games, watched television and smoked cannabis together the night before.

But the following morning, one of the defendant’s, Mr Shaikh, woke up in his home to find his phone and wallet missing with Mr Yadav and his 16-year-old friend known as ‘Eddie’ having left without waking him or the others.

The courtroom also heard how Mr Yadav had been convicted of dangerous driving earlier this year.

In that trial he denied driving up roads and roundabouts the wrong way and fleeing from police, but claimed two police officers had beat him up like he was a piece of meat.

Mr Hargreaves said: “The reason I suggest you are lying is that if you were to be charged last year with a burglary or a theft you may well have been in breach of your bail.

"You don’t have the courage to tell this jury the truth.”

Mr Yadav was also asked to show his Facebook account to police officers.

But on Wednesday evening Mr Yadav forgot his password and was unable to retrieve it from the reset function after linking the reminder email to a phone number he no longer used.

Officers then gained access by going on to the Facebook app on his Smartphone that did not require a password and searched it themselves, after Mr Yadav brought up the wrong profile of a different Ebrahim.

Mr Hargreaves said: “At every stage you did your best to frustrate that officer on Wednesday night. "When you are pressed or guilty you will do anything in your power to lie about it.”

The trial continues.