A ‘doting son and loving brother’ died of a fatal brain injury after being punched in the head by a man he labelled ‘Ed Sheeran’ during a row outside a Birmingham bar, an inquest heard.
Amarpal Atkar, 33, died after trouble flared over comments made in the smoking area of Be At One, on Stephenson Street, in which he referred to a man who had accidentally backed into him as ‘Ed Sheeran’ and a ‘ginger t***’.
Mr Aktar, who was ‘like a celebrity’ at the venue as ‘everybody knew him’, was punched twice to the head, the second of which caused the fatal brain injury.
The incident began when Thomas Coleman, a stranger on his first night out in the city, accidentally backed into Mr Atkar outside the club at around 1:20am on 31 July 2021.
Witnesses then heard Mr Atkar call Mr Coleman a ‘ginger t***’ and ‘Ed Sheeran’ before saying: ‘Hit me, hit me.’
Amarpal Atkar (pictured), 33, died after trouble flared over comments made in the smoking area of Be At One, on Stephenson Street, in which he referred to a man who had accidentally backed into him as ‘ Ed Sheeran ‘ and a ‘ginger t***’
Mr Coleman responded by punching Mr Atkar in the face which made him to fall to the ground. Mr Atkar got back to his feet as bouncers restrained Mr Coleman, taking his wallet and hotel key before letting him go.
As he walked away, Mr Atkar ‘pursued’ him and was heard on the phone saying ‘he’s here, come quick’, the court heard. As a struggle ensued between the pair near Birmingham New Street station, he swung to punch Mr Coleman.
Mr Atkar, a financial services officer from Oldbury, West Midlands, was then punched in the face a second time in a blow that proved fatal. He was found unresponsive near the entrance to the railway station on Stephenson Street and was rushed to hospital. Nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead the same day.
Mr Coleman, who ran from the scene, was found at the Grand Hotel and arrested by police, initially on suspicion of murder, with a case later made for manslaughter. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has, on two occasions, made the decision not to charge Mr Coleman with any offence, the court was told.
After the initial decision, Mr Atkar’s family lodged a Victims’ Right to Review, however Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard no charges would be brought, with family feeling ‘let down by the justice system’. As the inquest concluded, it was ruled Mr Atkar died from a traumatic brain injury caused from the second punch to the head during the altercation.
Ruling out unlawful killing and recording a narrative conclusion, senior coroner Louise Hunt told the court: ‘I accept Mr Coleman’s evidence when he said he was trying to protect himself at the time and the punch was in self-defence.
Mrs Hunt added: ‘It is regrettable that Mr Coleman decided to use such force to respond to the verbal altercation as this did result in the death of Mr Atkar.’
Mr Aktar, was ‘like a celebrity’ at Be At One on Stephenson Street, Birmingham, as ‘everybody knew him’
Mr Coleman and his girlfriend – now wife – had come to Birmingham for the first time to celebrate passing her driving test. Ending the night at Be At One, the couple decided to go back to their room at the Grand Hotel.
They were outside the club speaking to a taxi driver when the incident unfolded. As Mr Coleman was told they could not get a taxi, as it was too close to the hotel, he stepped back, accidentally bumping into Mr Atkar, the inquest heard.
Mr Coleman told the court: ‘I walked away and, at that moment, I heard a comment about the colour of some someone’s skin. After hearing ‘Ed Sheeran’ being shouted louder and louder, that’s when I realised it was addressed to me.
‘I walked over to Mr Atkar and asked if everything was alright and asked what was going on. He was saying “if you’re going to do something, then do it now”, but increasingly getting louder as he was saying it.
‘I was intimidated, I was scared. I was in a city I had never been to before, I had not experienced this kind of situation before. I remember vividly taking a step back and at that moment, I was thinking “do I run away or do I try and defend myself?” ‘.
CCTV then shows Mr Coleman punching Mr Atkar in the face, causing him to fall to the floor as he is struck. Mr Coleman told the court his ‘intention of throwing a punch was to try and stall and get out of there.’
He said he turned around to run, but was ‘restrained by bouncers’. After they confiscated his hotel key and wallet, he was let go and walked towards Birmingham New Street station with a plan to ‘get out of there.’
Mr Coleman continued: ‘Mr Atkar came towards me with his phone to his ear, he was saying: ‘He is here now, come quick.’ He then went to punch me.’ Mr Coleman punched Mr Atkar a second time to the face, ultimately causing his death.
Concluding the inquest Mrs Hunt told the court: ‘It is apparent that there may be an accidental bump to Mr Atkar, it is very minor and it’s shortly after this that they begin to converse. Mr Coleman says he was alerted to Mr Atkar when he heard reference to skin colour and Ed Sheeran. He realised it was in reference to him.
‘He said he didn’t know if he was just verbally assaulting him. He said he felt scared and intimidated and had not experienced that before. [His girlfriend] heard Mr Atkar say ‘are you going to hit me?’ She says things then escalated.’
Mrs Hunt added: ‘Mr Coleman did make a second punch…we now know that was a fatal blow. Mr Coleman says he was on the phone saying ‘he is here, come quick’. He thought he was going to be injured.’
Be At One’s head doorman, Chace Cappellie, described Mr Atkar as a club regular who was ‘known to be quite mouthy,’ but had never been violent, the inquest heard.
Mr Cappellie said: ‘He spoke to everyone, however he was harmless. I never heard him be offensive or violent towards anybody. I heard [Mr Atkar] say ‘hit me, hit me’; this is what drew my attention to them. I don’t remember him saying it in an aggressive way, it was just loud and slightly cocky.’
After the inquest, Mr Atkar’s devastated family paid tribute to him as the ‘life and soul of any room he walked into’. They said: ‘He was the happiest and most sociable person one could ever meet. He always made you feel welcome and at ease.
‘He was such a compassionate and caring human being. He was a doting son, a loving brother, and an amazing uncle. As a family, we are lost without him in our lives; there is a void he has left that nobody can fill. We feel let down by the justice system, CPS and today’s inquest. We feel very sad.’