Hardeep Sandhu, Sarvjeet Sidhu plead guilty to attempted murder of radio host Harnek Singh in Wattle Downs

Radio host Harnek Singh needed multiple surgeries after the December 2020 attack.

Two men have pleaded guilty to participating in the near-fatal attack on a well-known radio host who suffered multiple stab wounds after his ute was rammed in the driveway of his South Auckland home.

Harnek Singh - a DJ at Radio Virsa, which discusses religious and cultural issues in the Auckland Sikh community - was stabbed in his Wattle Downs driveway on the night of December 23, 2020, after a group of alleged attackers followed him home from temple.

Authorities previously described the attack as having been sparked by religious sectarian fervour.

Co-defendants Hardeep Singh Sandhu, 30, and Sarvjeet Sidhu, 27, took turns standing in the dock in the High Court at Auckland this morning as Justice Mathew Downs entered their convictions.

Sandhu was immediately taken into custody while Sidhu was allowed to remain on bail until 9am Monday, when a jury trial is slated to begin for five remaining co-defendants. Justice Downs set a sentencing date for both men for November, although the date may instead serve as a disputed facts hearing if an agreement isn’t reached beforehand.

Another co-defendant, Jaspal Singh, 42, pleaded last year to attempted murder and was sentenced to five years and three months’ prison.

Harnek Singh, who was 53 when he was attacked, underwent multiple surgeries as a result of his wounds.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.