LONDON (Agencies): A big development in the murder case of little Sara Sharif as the UK police arrested three wanted suspects on their arrival at London’s Gatwick Airport. Family sources said that the Surrey Police were interrogating them in connection with the murder case.
They disclosed that those taken into custody were Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, her uncle Faisal Malik Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool. Yesterday all three of them had fled to Sialkot after duping the police. From there they boarded a flight for Dubai and then to London.
UK police on Wednesday arrested the three British-Pakistani relatives of the 10-year-old Sara on suspicion of her murder, moments after the trio landed back in Britain following a month on the run in Pakistan. Sara Sharif’s body was discovered at the family’s home near Woking, southeast England, on August 10. A post-mortem examination revealed she had sustained “multiple and extensive injuries” over a sustained period.
UK Police had said Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, fled to Pakistan to take refuge with relatives before Sara’s body was found, sparking an international manhunt. “This evening… three people were arrested in connection with this investigation at Gatwick Airport,” Surrey Police detective superintendent Mark Chapman said in a televised statement. “Two men, aged 41 years and 28 years, and a woman aged 29 years were arrested on suspicion of murder after disembarking a flight from Dubai,” he added, without naming the trio in line with UK police practice.
The suspects flew from Pakistan to Britain via the gulf hub. “They are currently in custody and will be interviewed in due course.” A Pakistan police spokesman had earlier said that Sharif, Batool and Malik had voluntarily returned to Britain with the prior knowledge of authorities. “I confirm that they have not been arrested but they left voluntarily,” Raja Haq Nawaz, a lawyer for Urfan Sharif’s father, also told foreign media. Earlier this month, Sharif and Batool appeared in a video distributed to media, in which Batool said they were “willing to cooperate with UK authorities and fight our case in court”.
“All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety,” she said, alleging malpractice by the Pakistan police hunting them. In the two-and-a-half-minute low-quality video there was little mention of Sara’s death, which Batool called “an incident”. Surrey Police have said the fugitive trio were thought to have flown to Islamabad on August 9, the day before Sara was discovered at the family’s home in the village of Horsell, just outside Woking.
Sara’s case: Father among 3 arrested by UK police
