Sister of Murdered Wolverhampton Teenager Speaks Out Against Online Weapon Sales
The grieving sister of a schoolboy stabbed to death while walking home has issued a powerful plea for action against the online sale of weapons to teenagers. Nikita Kanda's brother, 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, was brutally attacked from behind on Mount Road in Lanesfield, Wolverhampton, in June 2022.
Tragic Case Highlights Deadly Consequences
Ronan Kanda was murdered by his own friends, Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, both aged 17 at the time, who tragically mistook him for a rival. During the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, it was revealed that Veadhesa purchased the 20-inch 'ninja' sword used in the killing using his mother's identification. Shockingly, Post Office workers handed him the weapon just hours before the fatal stabbing.
Now 25, Nikita Kanda has become a vocal advocate for stricter controls on how offensive weapons are sold to young people through digital platforms. She emphasized this urgent need during the opening of the new National Knife Crime Centre in Bloomsbury, central London, on Thursday, April 2.
Government Minister Reveals Disturbing Trend
Policing and Crime Minister Sarah Jones addressed the gathering, revealing that children as young as 12 are actively buying and selling knives online. She described how young people are establishing online businesses to trade weapons in the same casual manner they might exchange clothing items.
"If you look at the current landscape with young people encouraged to set up their own business to buy and sell online, to buy clothes, sell them, make profit, criminals have come into that and gone 'OK, you can do this by buying and selling knives'," Minister Jones stated.
The newly established Government-funded centre aims to support police forces in identifying and tackling offenders who sell offensive weapons through what's often called the 'grey market' of online commerce.
Call for Licensing System and Accountability
Nikita Kanda expressed cautious optimism about the new centre's potential impact. "I have no doubt this new knife crime centre will make an incredible difference," she said. "The online sale of dangerous weapons is something that should never be taken lightly. We know young people have been targeted online, and that means weapons are not harmless objects."
She continued with a heartfelt appeal: "The easy availability, the way they have been allowed to be sold freely and the design of them have no doubt enabled the growing problem and widely contributed to the culture of knife crime."
Minister Jones confirmed that the government is currently reviewing responses to a consultation about implementing a licensing system for sellers and importers of knives and bladed articles. This initiative forms part of a broader ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade.
"It is too easy to be able to buy and sell and receive knives in this country, and we need to keep pushing to do more," the minister emphasized. "There could be a licence regime which licenses who can sell knives and who can’t and what the purpose could be for."
Balancing Legitimate Uses with Public Safety
The proposed legislation would need to account for individuals who require knives for legitimate purposes, such as martial arts practitioners or antique collectors. Minister Jones acknowledged this complexity, stating: "If you talk to people who, through their martial arts or through antique collection or through other means, use knives, there is a legitimate purpose for people to buy and sell knives."
Nikita Kanda responded to this point directly: "Obviously we totally get that people can be buying these for legitimate purposes, like the minister said, martial arts, but we also would like these people who are buying knives for martial arts to be licensed, so that they hold accountability and responsibility for what they’re buying."
She added that a proper licensing system would enable thorough background checks on both buyers and sellers, creating crucial accountability measures.
Current Legislative Efforts and Crime Statistics
The government is advancing several measures through the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently in its final parliamentary stages. This comprehensive legislation aims to address multiple crime categories including knife crime, anti-social behavior, violence against women and girls, shoplifting, and child abuse.
According to the latest available Office for National Statistics figures, police-recorded knife crime decreased by nine percent last year. Specifically, 50,430 offences were logged in the year leading up to September 2025.
Despite this statistical improvement, Minister Jones emphasized that knife crime continues to have a "devastating" effect on vulnerable children who are being exploited through these dangerous online marketplaces.
Both Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill received life sentences for Ronan Kanda's murder. Veadhesa was given a minimum term of 18 years, while Shergill must serve at least 16 years before being considered for parole.
