Ajmol Alom murder: Knife warnings as trio jailed
Three men have been jailed for life for the murder of a "star pupil".
Aspiring doctor Ajmol Alom, 16, was stabbed in the thigh by a masked gang in an unprovoked attack near his home in Poplar, east London, on 12 August.
Aminur Nadir Khan, 19, Mashudur Rahman, 22, and Ali Akbar Choudhury, 20, were jailed for a minimum of 23 years.
Judge Martyn Zeidman said "this knife madness must end", adding that 400 people had died as a result of knife crime in the space of a year.
Ajmol's friend Azime Rob was stabbed in the face but has since made a good recovery, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
The judge said the men, all from east London and all with previous convictions for violence, would serve 10 years concurrently for the charge of wounding with intent against Azime.
Judge Zeidman, who quoted knife death figures based on a 12-month period up to March 2013, told the court: "There has to be a change. But cold figures can never sufficiently reflect the tragic sorrow caused by knife crime.
"In our case there were two totally unprovoked attacks upon 16-year-old boys.
"The first stabbing was to Rob's face but that did not quench your joint thirst for violence.
"Within a minute or so you were each a party to the second attack, this time upon Ajmol Alom. You each played a part in bringing his life to an end."
Judge Zeidman said it was not certain which defendant stabbed the victims but it was clear it had been a "joint enterprise".
Ajmol was days away from receiving his GCSE results when he was attacked.
It emerged that the teenager, described as one of the brightest pupils at nearby Langdon Park School, had achieved top marks including eight A grades.