Neighbours reveal Sara was tortured; mother Olga seeks custody of her son

They body of British-Pakistan Sara was found in her family home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10

(Web Desk) – The heartbroken mother of murdered Sara Sharif belied the claims of the 10-year-old's uncle that she fell down the stairs and died, while former neighbours of the girl revealed that she saw her bruised.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench ruled that Urfan Sharif's family members cannot be detained in Pakistan on a petition filed against the arrest of two of her uncles by Jhelum police.

According to British media, the mother of Sara, Olga warned her “fugitive” dad Urfan that he “couldn’t hide away forever” as she demanded custody of her teenage son over fears for his safety.

A former neighbour, who asked only to be identified as Jessica, told BBC that her daughter told her about “cuts and bruises” she saw to Sara’s face months before she was found dead at her home.

Jessica said it happened in April. When her daughter asked Sara about her injuries in the school, she told her that she fell off from a bicycle and walked away.

The next day the teacher announced Sara had left school and she was being home-schooled. A few days later, the family moved to Woking.

Another woman, who did not want to be named, told the BBC that Beinash, the partner of Sara’s father, had told her that she was being home schooled after being bullied for wearing a hijab.

When she told Beinash that Sara must be with children her own age, she said she has friends at the mosque.

According to The Sun, Sara’s mother rejected the claim of Urfan’s brother Imran Sharif that she broke her neck after falling down a flight of stairs.

Olga told the paper that she wanted that Urfan should be questioned about what’s happened to her daughter.

LHC RULING

The Sharif family moved the Lahore High Court after two members were detained by the Jhelum police for questioning.

Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan is hearing the petition against police “who are harassing the family by repeated questioning of Urfan.”

The petitioners claimed that police told them that Urfan has reached Pakistan but they don’t have any information about his arrival.

Hearing the arguments, Justice Khan ruled that the police could not arrest the father and brothers of the accused for questioning.

It must be noted that the Interpol and British police are working alongside Pakistani police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to look for the absconders. Jhelum Police are interrogating the family members at Interpol's request.

THE MURDER

They body of British-Pakistan Sara Sharif was found in her family home in Woking, Surrey, before dawn of August 10. Surrey police was informed of the death by telephone. After finding her body, police launched a murder probe and identified three people as suspects. They included her father, Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Malik.

Surrey police found during investigation that the accused had fled to Pakistan on August 9. The police launched an international search for the suspects.

During the manhunt, two brothers of Malik were detained by the Jhelum police.

It may be recalled that Olga married Urfan, 41, in November 2009, but the marriage ended in 2017. Urfan was awarded full custody of both Sara and her 13-year-old brother in 2019.