Man jailed for killing friend in party game

A drunken re-creation of a "gangsta" rap video at a 21st birthday party went tragically wrong when a reveller accidentally killed his friend in front of 50 guests, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

Manjit Sangha, 30, was showing off and twirling a .22 Brocock revolver around in his hand when he pointed it and pulled the trigger, not knowing it had been loaded. Sukhbir Pattowala, 25, was fatally shot in the head, at the Agra Indian restaurant in Hounslow, west London.

Sangha, from Muswell Hill in north London, was jailed for three years after admitting manslaughter and two charges of affray.

Michael Austin-Smith QC, for the defence, said Sangha had been playing with the gun all evening on 19 October last year. He had pointed the unloaded gun at two other guests and pulled the trigger. But minutes before the tragedy, the weapon was taken off him and loaded without his knowledge.

Judge Gerald Gordon QC described the case as unique.

He added: "He pulled the trigger unaware that the gun was loaded. He had no intention at all to cause the fatal injuries."