Husband of woman who died after being set on fire denies setting her alight
The husband of a woman who was killed when she was set on fire has denied being responsible for her death.
Nosheen Akhtar, 31, suffered horrific burns after being set on fire at her home in East Street, Bury, Greater Manchester, in July 2021 and she later died of her injuries in hospital.
An inquest into her death heard on Monday she had told paramedics her husband, Waqas Mahmood, had “thrown liquid on her” before setting her alight.
He denied the allegation and claimed his wife had set herself on fire after a row when "everything went boom" before claiming he had tried to save her.
Mr Mahmood said he had been watching television and drinking brandy in his living room when Ms Akhtar entered the room and started swearing at him, Manchester Evening News reported.
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Nosheen Akhtar is said to have told paramedics her husband set her alight (MEN Media)
Waqas Mahmood denied being responsible for his wife's death, claiming she did it to herself (MEN Media)She accused him of sending messages to his ex-wife so he told her “go away” and she left. .
He said he asked his brother, Hasnain Mahmood - who was also in the house at the time - to ‘sort it out’.
After talking to Ms Akhtar, he said Hasnain returned and told him ‘she’s on one’ before leaving the house.
Mr Mahmood said his wife then came into the living room and sat down next to him on the sofa. He said she seemed 'normal' and he had no idea that she had white spirit on her at the time.
Mr Mahmood told the inquest he said ‘hello’ to Ms Akhtar in an attempt to cheer her up.
He claimed she then turned towards him and set herself on fire.
He said: “She got up and got the lighter and everything just went boom. All I could see was flames.”
Nosheen said her husband threw liquid over her (MEN Media)Asked by assistant coroner Lisa Judge whether he had set Ms Akhtar on fire, Mr Mahmood said: “No, I did not put her on fire.”
Mr Mahmood, who has since remarried following Ms Akhtar's death, also denied pouring the white spirit on her, and described what he witnessed as 'like something out of a horror movie'.
The inquest heard that the couple had married in June 2020, less than a month after Mr Mahmood divorced his ex-wife.
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Mr Mahmood said Ms Akhtar had been recommended to his family and the couple arranged to get married less than a week later.
He did not know Ms Akhtar, who was also known as Sarah Hussain, before then - and said their marriage was a ‘transaction’, but that they hoped to have children together.
However, he said Ms Akhtar soon became ‘suspicious’ about him remaining in contact with his ex-wife and would regularly check his mobile phone.
He added: “She wanted to catch me out.
Floral tributes left near Nosheen's home in Bury (MEN Media)“I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I wanted information about my children.”
He was also asked about a comment he made in a police interview after being arrested on suspicion of murder following Ms Akhtar's death.
The inquest heard he told detectives: “My life is finished. It’s over in one day.”
Explaining what he had meant, Mr Mahmood said: “We had our ups and downs but we were a happy couple.
"She has died in one day. It’s very hard to believe. My head was everywhere. All of a sudden you’re locked up in a police cell being questioned.”
When informed by detectives that Ms Akhtar had told paramedics her husband set her alight, the inquest heard that Mr Mahmood accused his wife of 'wanting sympathy'.
(MEN Media)The inquest was also shown CCTV footage of Mr Mahmood’s movements in the minutes after his wife ran into the street on fire.
While neighbours helped Ms Akhtar, Mr Mahmood left the property via the backyard and could be seen walking down the street.
He returned about six minutes later after police and paramedics had arrived at the scene. Mr Mahmood said he had drunk about 14 shots of brandy at the time and his ‘brain was not working’.
“The neighbours were there so as far as I’m concerned, she was in good care,” he told the inquest.
After returning to the scene, he was assessed by paramedics before being arrested by police.
The inquest has previously heard that Hasnain Mahmood and Murtaz Safeer, Waqas's nephew, were also arrested on suspicion of murder.
However, no further action was taken against the three and they were released without charge.
The inquest continues.
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