Executed

Today the family of Mohammed Basharat said they feared the murder could have been connected to a road rage incident the previous night.

Mr Basharat, a father-of-four, was gunned down in cold blood in the offices of Little Horton Private Hire in Holme Top, Bradford, as he was set to go out on a job. According to his brother Nasar Mohammed, the 33-year-old was shot once in the head by a gunman, who wore a balaclava, and then twice more as he lay dying on the floor.

Police were called to the small taxi office in Park Lane, which sits at the back of St Luke's Hospital, at 8.35pm on Saturday.

Officers from Bradford South CID confirmed that Mr Basharat suffered head wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The area was cordoned off and police were today probing the circumstances surrounding the murder.

A distraught Nasar Mohammed, 23, who was on the scene in minutes, said: "I got to the scene before the police did.

"I saw him lying there basically dying with the paramedics trying to bring him back to life.

"He had bullets in his head. We have been told by the other drivers that the shooting might be linked to road rage.

"They said my brother had a bit of an argument with some men in a car the night before and they threatened to kill him when they came back."

Mr Basharat's bother-in-law, Feyez Akram, 25, said he had heard rumours about an argument between the victim and two men after a minor accident between two cars in Park Lane the previous night.

He said: "Bash was so quiet, almost too quiet. He wouldn't harm a fly. He's a father of four who's been a private hire driver for about ten or 15 years. We just cannot believe he's dead."

A post mortem examination was carried out the body of Mr Basharat yesterday.

He leaves a wife and four young children - 14 and 11-year-old boys and twin girls aged eight - who live in Heaton.

His father Mohammed Naik was due to fly back from holiday in Pakistan yesterday to join the victim's grieving mother Anaith Begum in Bradford.

According to Little Horton Private Hire's owner Tahir Khan, Mr Basharat was preparing to set off on a job when the gunman strode into the office and opened fire, with what was believed to be a handgun, in front of an operator and two other drivers. Mr Khan's brother Mohammed Salim, pictured, who helps run the business, said: "It was about 8.30pm on Saturday when I got a phone call at home.

"I rushed to the scene but when I got inside the office he was already dead. The ambulance people had an oxygen mask over his mouth and were still trying to get him back.

"But a few minutes later they said 'I'm sorry, he's dead.'

"The day before he radioed the office for help and two other drivers went up to help him after two men started to argue with him after they clipped each other's wing mirrors in Park Lane on the corner with Holme Street.

"He was threatened by one of the men and we just don't know if that has anything to do with what's happened."

Mr Khan added: "Bash was an absolutely brilliant worker. He's worked for me for about four or five years and I've had no complaints. He was such a nice lad. None of us can reason why this has happened."

Detectives from Bradford South CID are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with any information should call the helpline on (01274) 376459.