A man accused of murdering a restaurant owner almost 40 years ago was detained by police as he attempted to board a Pakistan-bound flight, a court has heard.
Riasat Khan, 63, was seized at Birmingham Airport in May last year by police who stopped him from boarding a plane which was heading to Islamabad.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard they were executing a warrant granted by the procurator fiscal in Aberdeen just days after the 1978 death of businessman Kazi Ahmad at a flat in the city’s Rosemount Viaduct.
When he died, Mr Ahmad was one of four partners in the Raj Dulal Restaurant which was located in the city’s Dee Street.
He was described in a legal statement read to a jury yesterday afternoon as being a gambler who regularly used bookmakers and a casino in Aberdeen.
Khan, of Clare Gardens, Cardiff, denies charges of theft and murdering Mr Ahmad on October 13, 1978.
His lawyers have lodged a special defence in which their client claims he “acted in self-defence” at the time of the alleged crime.
Yesterday, prosecution lawyer Jane Farquharson read to jurors a statement of agreed evidence.
In the statement, Ms Farquharson said that Khan worked at the restaurant and lived in the flat with Mr Ahmad and other restaurant staff members.
A post-mortem examination finished with doctors concluding that the alleged victim died from stab wounds to the neck and chest. His right lung had also been punctured in two places.
Jurors were also told about betting slips recovered from a branch of William Hill bookmakers near Edinburgh’s Haymarket railway station.
They showed large bets of between £200 and £400 being placed “to win” on the same day as the alleged murder.
Fingerprint examiners concluded that a print which had been left on one of the slips had been “deposited” there by Khan, the statement said.
Prosecutors claim that Khan stole a kitchen knife from the restaurant and then, in the flat, assaulted Mr Ahmad and tied his wrists behind his back.
Khan is accused of then covering Mr Ahmad’s head with an “item of clothing”, striking him repeatedly on the neck and body with a knife, murdering him and robbing him of a sum of money.
Khan, who is represented by advocate Gary Allan QC, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mr Allan has lodged a special defence of self-defence on behalf of his client.
The trial, which is being heard before judge Lord Beckett and a jury of eight women and seven men, continues today.
