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LONDON: An NRI bridegroom and his parents were jailed for a year each after their compensation claim for an accident was found to be false.
Andrew Singh (26), father Graham (53) and mother Nirmella (49), claimed that they were injured in separate coach collisions on wedding day, which involved members of the bridegroom party.
Their deceit was laid bare when Andrew Singh was caught on camera dancing energetically and being carried aloft by guests at the wedding.
The video was shown at the Manchester Minshull Street Crown court yesterday and a host of inconsistencies were found in their claims. All three from Old Trafford pleaded guilty to conspiracy, to defraud and committing perjury.
Andrew Singh’s wife and father-in-law gave statements for the prosecution. The family were among 27 claimants who each demanded damages from the coach firm’s insurers.
Only two of them were deemed genuine and the Singhs’ bid for up to 1,500 pounds each for non-existent injuries was dismissed and they were ordered to pay 73,000 pounds each.
Two of the three coaches hired from Hollins Travel had been involved in crash on the wedding day. At the first crash, paramedics and police noted that only the car driver was seriously injured. After the court ruling, Detective Constable Chris Harrison said: “These claims may well have caused Hollins – a small local company – to go bust.” (PTI)