Sara Sharif, 10, ‘fell down stairs & broke her neck’, uncle says as he’s held by Pakistan cops over Woking ‘murder’
AN uncle of the young girl found dead in a Woking home claimed she was killed when she fell down the stairs and broke her neck.
The body of Sara Sharif was found in Horsell, Surrey in the early hours of Thursday, August 10.
Cops quickly launched a murder probe, before revealing the three people they want to speak to about the 10-year-old’s death had fled the UK.
Tributes poured in for the little girl in the days after her death as her father was named locally as Malik Urfan Sharif, 41.
The brother of young Sara’s father, Imran Sharif, has now claimed she died in an accident at home.
The uncle has since been held by cops, and told Pakistan Police the partner of Sara’s dad, Beinash Batool, 29, watched the horror unfold.
Jhelum police told SkyNews: “Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck.
“Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.”
The force said it was still hunting Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif who is said to have fled the UK along with two adults and five children ranging from one to 13 years old.
A post-mortem in recent days revealed that young Sara suffered “multiple and extensive injuries which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”.
Dept Supt Mark Chapman said at the time: “While the post-mortem has not provided us with an established cause of death at this time, we now know that Sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period.
“This has significantly changed the nature of our investigation, and we have widened the timescale of the focus of our enquiry.
“As a result, we are trying to piece together a picture of Sara’s lifestyle but we cannot do this without the public’s help.”
Anyone who knew Sara or her family at all is being urged to come forward via the investigation portal.
It comes just one day after it was revealed Sara was known to social services.
Surrey County Council said it could not comment further while a review by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership was being undertaken.
At the weekend it was revealed the youngster’s father was one of the three people being hunted by international cops.
MailOnline reported Chotala Police Station in Jhelum, which is co-ordinating the manhunt, said: “We have been asked by the senior officers to arrest Urfan Sharif who recently came from England.
“The FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) has sent a draft to district police officer to arrest him immediately.
“We are on it and hopefully he would be behind the bars soon.”