LONDON: The uncle of murdered UK schoolgirl Sara Sharif has claimed to police in Pakistan that the 10-year-old died from a broken neck after falling down a flight of stairs, Sky News reported.
Imran Sharif is being questioned in custody over his brother’s suspected involvement in the girl’s death in the UK.
Urfan Sharif traveled to Pakistan and phoned British police from the country on Aug. 10 to report the death of his daughter in Woking, Surrey.
He is believed to have fled to the country along with his partner, and another brother, the day before making the call.
Surrey Police in the UK have said that the child, who was a year-five primary school student, suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” that were “likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time.”
Pakistani police are hunting her father, who is believed to have checked in at his family home in the city of Jhelum.
The UK and Pakistan do not share a formal extradition treaty.
Local police in Jhelum detained Imran Sharif over suspicions that he knew the whereabouts of his sibling.
Imran said: “I found out what happened to Sara through the international media.
“My parents told me Urfan briefly came home very upset. He kept saying ‘they’ (British authorities) are going to take his children away from him.”
He claimed that Urfan’s partner, and Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 29, was “home with the children” when the schoolgirl fell down the stairs.
“Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan,” he told Jhelum police.
It was also revealed that Surrey Police have had dealings with Urfan in the past, with the family being known to authorities and interactions having gone “back some years.”
Det. Supt. Mark Chapman said: “Surrey Police’s contact with the family has been on a limited basis. It’s been on a historic basis. And that goes back some time.”
However, Chapman noted that the case would not be referred to the police watchdog, and added that it “doesn’t fulfil the criteria to alert the Independent Office for Police Conduct.”
He said: “We’re looking to hear from anybody who lived in the area who regularly saw Sara going about her daily routine.
“Any parents who may know of Sara from school or other regular activities. Any parties that might have gone on out of school, or anyone who had any form of contact with her really, no matter how insignificant it might seem.”
Children’s social care campaigner Chris Wild told the BBC that Sara would have been “on the radar” of authorities, owing to the knowledge of the family by the local police and council.
He also pointed out that she may have been the subject of a child protection order, and that local authorities may have been tipped off about safeguarding concerns.
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