Two teenagers have been sentenced to life in prison for killing another teenager who they mistook for a rival gang member.

Vanushan Balakrishnan and Ilyas Suleiman, now both 18, stabbed Rishmeet Singh 15 times in November 2021 after chasing him down a road in Southall, west London.

The teenagers were forced into Class A drug dealing after racking up debts to gang leaders.

Balakrishnan had a previous conviction for possessing a Rambo knife, for which he was given a referral order in February 2021.

On the night of the murder, they took two blades and travelled on bikes to a rival gang’s territory.

They wore facemasks and put their hoods up to hide their identities.

It was heard that they deliberately set out for a “glide” – an attack on enemy gang territory.

They saw Rishmeet and his friends and mistook them for members of the rival gang.

Balakrishnan and Suleiman chased them through a park and “ferociously attacked” the 16-year-old after he tripped and fell.

A member of the public alerted police and paramedics, however, Rishmeet died at the scene, having suffered “unsurvivable” stab wounds to his head and chest.