Tariq Javed
November 9, 2000
Manchester, England
Shock waves over murder of taxi driver: Anger runs high and cabbies seek more protection as 2,000 mourners attend funeral of Asian victim of racist attack
Guardian Home Pages
The Guardian
London, England
Nov 27, 2000
p10
Full Text :COPYRIGHT 2000 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Byline: David Ward
Tariq Javed was buried yesterday by his father's side in the cemetery near the football ground on a day of dark scudding clouds, wild squalls and bone-chilling winds.
Mr Javed, 48, was a taxi driver, a man who lived for his family and his job, a man whose only hobby was the beloved pigeons he bred and raced. Friends say he would always walk away unpaid rather than enter into a bitter row over a fare.On November 9, Mr Javed, father of two daughters and two sons, was murdered as he worked in the area of Bury, Greater Manchester, which local cabbies call Dicky Bird.
Police, using guidelines which emerged after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, are treating the incident as a racist killing and have reported claims by a witness that Mr Javed was run over twice by his own taxi, a Toyota Corolla. They refuse to confirm that he died in the arms of a 14-year-old girl.
Local taxi drivers complain of assaults, robberies and runners (fares who escape without paying); but no one had anticipated murder. That's not the kind of thing that might have been expected in Bury.
"The death of Mr Javed represents a tragedy for the whole community," said Superintendent Steve Westcott of Greater Manchester police. "Nobody simply going about their daily business should have to pay the terrible price which Mr Javed paid."
Some Asian taxi drivers reacted to the murder with bewilderment and anger. In the immediate aftermath, there were two demonstrations.
The killing has united drivers, usually bitter rivals, of both black cabs and mini-cabs. It has also united races, with white drivers expressing sympathy and shock. "This is a disgusting thing to happen," said one white driver. "It was dreadful, a sadistic killing which could have happened to any of us."
Drivers have met the council and the police to discuss more protection and the police have handed over 300 attack alarms. Other measures could include security cameras, tracking devices and a ban on drunks.
But all of the drivers know they are in a risky trade. One said they were like prostitutes: they picked up strangers without knowing how the encounter might develop.
"Bus drivers, train drivers, pilots - they are all seen to be doing a public service," said Bobby Hussain, driver of a black cab and member of the emergency committee set up after Mr Javed's death. "But people tend to look down on taxi drivers. No matter if we are Asian or white, we are not given respect."
Yesterday's funeral ceremony was held at a running track because no indoor venue was big enough to hold the 2,000 mourners. It was preceded by a procession of more than 20 cabs, many of them from Peel Cars, the company for which Mr Javed worked.
"Tariq had been working for me for 10 years," said Naz Khan, Peel's owner. "I have never had a complaint about him. Why him?"
The mourners, mostly men and mostly Muslims, shivered in anoraks on the soggy grass to pay their last respects. Under a conical canopy lay the coffin, draped with a green cloth and bearing lilies and cream roses.
"You will be in our thoughts for ever," read the message from the Black Cabs Association.
Qari Muhammed Khan, imam at Mr Javed's mosque and a close friend of the family, reminded them that life in this world is temporary, a preparation for permanence in the hereafter, and explained that forgiveness is better than rage.
"We are all children of Adam and Eve, irrespective of race or colour," he said. "Some of us are from the prophet David, some from Abraham. When it comes to living, we are all one."
He urged the mourners to adhere to the traditional Islamic way of peaceful submission, to share their sadness with each other. Then, as many of the men removed their shoes and stood on plastic bags, final prayers were said over the coffin, whose lid was removed for a final farewell.
Mr Javed's five brothers, and his sons Nadeen and Naveed, helped carry his body.
"My brother was a very jolly person and very hard working," said Asif Javed. "He didn't spend much time going out. Work and home, that was his life.
"All the family is devastated. No one among our family or friends has ever known anything like this. My mother is in a state of shock and cannot speak."
Mark Anthony Baker, 21, of Bury, and Jason Power, 29, of no fixed address, have appeared in court charged with robbing and murdering Mr Javed.
Cite: Thomson Gale Document Number: CJ75683590
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Life for taxi driver killers
The Mirror
London, England
Oct 17, 2001
p28
Byline: STEPHEN WHITE
TWO men who kicked a cabbie to death and ran over him in his taxi to dodge a pounds 2 fare were jailed for life yesterday.
Mark Baker, 21, of Bury, and Jason Power, 30, of Manchester, were convicted of robbery and the murder of driver Tariq Javed, 46. Both denied the charges.
Judge Simon Fawcus said at Manchester Crown Court: "This was a senseless killing which occurred because of drink."
Cite: Thomson Gale Document Number: CJ79189261
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Bolton News (Bolton, Greater Manchester, England) June 14, 2007 Murderer loses appeal bid By Staff Reporter A MURDERER who beat an Asian taxi driver to death before his friend drove over the victim's head has failed to have his conviction overturned. Jason Power, aged 35, of Cross Lane, Radcliffe, was taking a cab on a night out to celebrate Mark Baker's 21st birthday on November 9, 2000, when, together with two other passengers, they tried to run away without paying. Cabbie Tariq Javed tried to stop them but was dragged from the taxi and beaten to the ground by Power and Baker. Then Baker got back into the cab and reversed it over the driver's head. advertisement Mr Javed died from his injuries. Power was jailed for life at Manchester Crown Court in October, 2001, after being convicted of murder and robbery. Baker was also jailed for life for murder. At the trial, the jury found the fatal injury had been inflicted by the beating and not the car wheel. Yesterday, Power asked London's Criminal Appeal Court permission to appeal against his conviction. He claimed new medical evidence showed Mr Javed's death was caused by the car wheel passing over his head, not the beating he received from the two men. He argued that fresh medical evidence, which suggested it was "impossible" Mr Javed's injuries had been caused by the beating, had made his conviction "unsafe". But Lord Justice Toulson, refusing the application, said that the view of the cause of the fatal head injuries was "a maverick or minority view". He said: "This was a case of murder over about £2."
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