Two men have been convicted of murdering a 74-year-old jeweller who was kidnapped and tortured in a botched robbery.

Charles Mcauley and Thomas Jervis had denied killing Ramniklal Jogiya, but a Birmingham Crown Court jury unanimously convicted the men on the grounds of joint enterprise.

Mr Jogiya had been bundled into a van while walking home on a cold night in January, before he was beaten for information and then dumped in a country lane near Stoughton, Leicestershire.

Jervis was sent back to the shop to open the safe while wearing a burkha disguise, but was defeated by a 12-hour time-lock.

The jury cleared another man, Callan Reeve, of murder but convicted him of manslaughter.

A fourth defendant, Javon Roach, 30, of Norwich Road, Leicester, was acquitted of all charges he was facing; murder, manslaughter, robbery and kidnapping.

Mcauley, 20, of Gooding Avenue, Braunstone, and Reeve, 20, of Aylmer Road, both Leicester, along with Jervis, 24, of Enderby Road, Whetstone, Leicestershire; had all admitted kidnap and robbery before trial, but denied murder and an alternative manslaughter charge.

Unsuspecting Mr Jogiya was abducted near his shop in Belgrave Road, Leicester, on January 24, this year.

Opening the case, James House QC told Birmingham Crown Court said the "sophisticated" operation must have been planned over weeks if not months.

Mr Jogiya was handled with such force one of his biceps was ripped away from the bone, six of his ribs on the left side were broken, and he had multiple injuries to his hands and fingers.

Jurors also heard how the pensioner suffered 21 distinctive circular injuries to the torso and shoulder area, suggestive of something being used to inflict repeated pain.

Mr Jogiya was abandoned, probably still alive according to the prosecution, in an isolated location with his mobile phone having been thrown away by his kidnappers.

His body was found at about 10am the next day by a retired couple driving past the scene.

Addressing jurors on the first day of trial, Mr House said: "Mr Jogiya died as a direct result of his significant injuries, coated in mud and lying in the gateway of a field beside a quiet country road."

The Crown had alleged the men responsible "needed information from him to enable them to enter his jewellery shop, turn off the number-coded burglar alarm, access the number-coded safe and steal the valuable gold jewellery within".

He added: "To get that information, those involved all knew they would have to force it out of him if they were to have any chance of success.

"Mr Jogiya was therefore beaten until he divulged the information they required.

"Once they had that information he was dumped, probably still alive but seriously injured, miles from help, thus allowing the group to access the shop, with the keys they had taken from him."

Later in the trial Mcauley, when giving evidence in his own defence, had pointed the finger of blame squarely at Roach, claiming the bigger man had "got angry", "started hitting Mr Jogiya" and then "poking" the victim with a sharp metal tool, called a centre punch.

But jurors were unconvinced by Mcauley's account and instead convicted him of playing a role in the killing, while clearing Roach of any wrong-doing.

The verdicts prompted emotional outbursts from the public gallery and inside the court dock.

Mcauley hurled insults at Mr Roach before he was led away by security staff, also railing against the jury telling them "go f**k yourselves".

Mr Justice Martin Spencer thanked jurors for their service, telling them: "It's been my privilege to observe you in the course of the trial, the way you've given this case your attention and the approach adopted to it.

"It's a huge affirmation for the jury system."

Remanding Jervis, Mcauley and Reeve into custody, he adjourned sentencing until September 10.

Afterwards, Mr Jogiya's family, in a statement released through police, said they had been put through an "horrendous" ordeal, adding: "Dad was taken from us before his time, but for him, we will always remember the happier times and he will forever live on in our memories and in our hearts."

Following the guilty verdicts on Charles Mcauley and Thomas Jervis for murder and Callan Reeve for manslaughter, Detective Chief Inspector David Swift-Rollinson of Leicestershire Police said their frustration was "borne out" in the injuries Mr Jogiya received.

He said: "Mr Jogiya was locking up his shop as he normally did.

"He secured it, put on the alarm and as he was walking home he was grabbed off the street and bundled into a Ford Transit van - effectively kidnapped.

"I understand that he was beaten in order for the suspects to gain the three things they needed: the keys to his shop, the shop alarm code and the complex code that is used to open the safe."

He added: "They were thwarted in their attempts because the safe had a 12-hour delay timer on it which prevented them unlocking it.

"Personally I think that added to their frustrations and their frustrations were borne out in the injuries Mr Jogiya received. These injuries were quite distressing."

Speaking of the threat of another incident like this, Mr Swift-Rollinson said: "I hope there is no chance at all of a repeat of this. This was a planned and sophisticated attack - it just went too far through the force that was used on Mr Jogiya that ended in his death.

"I'd like to reassure members of the community that this was an isolated incident and not one that I hope to see repeated in the near future.

"I applaud the family for the dignity they have shown throughout this ordeal and the six months of the police investigation - they have shown enormous dignity and courage, and I hope the convictions of these men and the verdicts that this jury has come to gives them a sense of satisfaction and hopefully some closure that ends their grieving process."

Mr Swift-Rollinson said Leicestershire Police used social media extensively in order to catch the killers.

He said: "The verdict re-emphasises our stance that we take this type of crime exceptionally seriously. We will use all the resources and means available to us to identify those persons that are responsible, capture them, and bring them before a criminal court.

"That should hopefully bring some satisfaction and confidence to the people of Leicester that we do our job successfully.

"In this particular case, my own particular viewpoint was that the media and the community could help the police solve this crime.

"So by placing information and CCTV clips out on social media and to local news agencies, the community would see what an awful thing had happened."

By Richard Vernalls and Josh Payne