'Murdered' girl, 10, seen with 'cuts and bruises' but gave friend tragic excuse
A ten-year-old girl was reportedly seen at school with cuts and bruises on her face, months before she was found dead at her family home.
Sara Sharif was found dead at her family’s home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10. Post-mortem tests found she had sustained “multiple and extensive injuries”.
Police were called from Pakistan by her father Urfan Sharif on August 10. The 41-year-old, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his 28-year-old brother Faisal Malik are all thought to have travelled from the UK to Islamabad the day before - and are wanted for questioning.
In the months before the shocking tragedy, young Sara was seen at school with cuts and bruises all over her, one neighbour said.
Urfan Sharif, the father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who is being sought by detectives (PA)
Beinash Batool, who also disappeared to Pakistan after the young girl died (PA)Speaking to The BBC, she said how her daughter, one of Sara’s classmates, saw the injuries first-hand. The former neighbour, who asked only to be identified as Jessica, told The BBC Sara had been a happy and confident child who had often skipped school. However, after her body was found, Jessica’s daughter told her that in April, at St Mary’s primary school, in Byfleet, Sara had had obvious injuries.
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Jessica said: "Just before the Easter holidays she was in school and had cuts and bruises on her face and her neck. My daughter had asked what had happened and she said she'd fallen off a bike and then kind of walked away. The next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home-schooled."
It was around then, she said, that the Sharif family moved to Woking and Jessica never saw the young girl at school again. A separate neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the BBC that Beinash had said she was being home schooled after being bullied for wearing a hijab.
The neighbour “suggested” Sara needed to be with children her own age, to which Beinash claimed she was making friends at the mosque and in her swimming lessons. On a separate occasion, she remarked how difficult the home schooling must be, but Beinash said it was easy as she used BBC Bitesize. She also went on to describe Sara as a “reserved and quiet” child who rarely laughed or smiled.
Faisal Shahzad Malik - is amongst the trio being tracked by police
Taxi driver Urfan on his now defunct TikTok channel (TikTok)Sara's exact cause of death remains unknown, but it's been reported Urfan's brother Imran Malik told Pakistani police that he'd been told through an intermediary she broke her neck after falling down the stairs. The sibling, who has not been charged or arrested, made the claim in a police interview after officers raided the Sharif family home in Jhelum – 84 miles south of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.
But Sara’s mum Olga, 36, slammed this as lies and warned the brother could have just made that claim to protect his brother. “I don’t think he is being honest,” she told The Sun.
The heartbroken mum continued: “His baseless version answers none of my questions. If there was an accident you don’t leave the country in secret. The only person I want answers from is Urfan. He has to be questioned about what’s happened to my daughter.
“I need to know why she was left in that house whilst everyone else flew out of the country after she was already dead. I will never have closure until I know what has happened and why it happened to my girl."
Olga, originally from Poland but lives in Yeovil, Somerset, added she also feared for the safety of Sara’s 13-year-old brother, who was one of five children taken to Pakistan by the three family members who fled. Surrey Police continue to appeal for information, with a spokesperson adding: "No piece of information is insignificant, so if you can help, please contact us. If you would like to stay anonymous, you can report information to Crimestoppers."
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