Murder hunt after mum and three children die in fire

The woman, in her 40s and named locally as Shehnila Taufiq, her 19-year-old daughter and sons, aged 17 and 15, died after fire broke out at their terraced home in Wood Hill in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester this morning.

Police said they cannot rule out a link with the murder of a man in his 20s in nearby Kent Street several hours earlier.

Today, Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister said Leicestershire Police have launched a murder inquiry over the blaze and are examining the possibility of it being a revenge attack.

Emergency crews were called to reports of a man being assaulted in Kent Street at 5.30pm yesterday.

Police have not released details of his injuries but he was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he died.

At 12.30am today firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze at the Wood Hill property which is half a mile away from the assault scene, which detectives said was busy when the man was injured.

Urging witnesses to get in touch, Mr Bannister said it was possible both offences, which he described as “terrible, terrible crimes”, were linked.

He said officers were exploring different lines of inquiry but one included the fire potentially being a revenge attack.

Mr Bannister said he was particularly keen to speak to witnesses who were in both locations.

He said: “These are obviously both very serious incidents and the investigations are in their very early stages to establish if there are any links between them.”

He said the crimes might be linked because of the close locations and lack of time between them.

He added: “I can’t confirm here and now it is a revenge attack - it may be, it may not be - but lines of inquiry will certainly get to the bottom of that.”

Referring to neighbours talking about a “fire bombing”, Mr Bannister said: “Fire bombing in my experience means different things to different people.

“We are working really closely with the fire brigade. Exactly how the fire started, where it started and of course who is responsible is something we will get to the bottom of.”

The four victims, who included Mrs Taufiq and her children named locally as Zainab, Bilal and Jamal Sattar, were found dead in upstairs bedrooms.

Neighbours spoke of flames shooting out of the house which was gutted in the blaze.

The officer said neither the family nor the man who was killed were known to police.

The force has drafted in extra officers and forensics staff to probe both crimes and increased patrols in the area.

Police are working to trace a man who also lived in the property.

Among friends and neighbours who paid tribute at the scene was teacher Mohammed Qasim Manjra.

Mr Manjra, who taught Jamal history at a nearby independent Islamic school, said: “He was a very sociable kid and we are very sad that he has gone.

“It’s a very big shock for the community.”

Leicester-based Imam Ibrahim Mogra, the assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, also visited the scene.

He told reporters: “Local people are devastated. It’s hard to believe that such a tragedy could occur and four lives could be lost in a matter of minutes.

“I did not know them personally but from what people have told me they were a very religious family, very humble, very modest and very generous.

“The mother was a scholar herself and clearly they were a family that was into religion and education and were held in very high esteem by the local community.”

Asked for his views on possible links between the fire and the murder committed in the city, Mr Mogra added: “We just have to wait for the police to carry out their investigation and I just pray that there is no link between the two incidents.”

Local store-keeper Sattar Raidhan, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said: “The whole family used the shop regularly and I heard this morning that there had been a fire.

“One of the boys - the 15-year-old - came in the shop yesterday. They were a loving family and had a lot of friends.

“I believe the husband worked as a doctor in Ireland and he came home every weekend to see his family. “I can’t even imagine how this would happen to a family like that.”

Labour MP Keith Vaz, who represents Leicester East, also met with local people near the police cordon sealing off Wood Hill.

Mr Vaz said: “This is a very peaceful area so this is a big shock to local people and I’m just here to show my support.

“I have spoken to the (Police and Crime) Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader, and to the Chief Constable and I think we need to let the police get on with their job.

“Only when we know the facts can we come to any conclusions as to why this has happened to an ordinary hard-working family.

“The imam has just told me they were very active in the work that they were doing locally.

“The father is a doctor and is being comforted by members of the community... a community who are clearly in grief.

“A whole family wiped out in this way, with only the father remaining, is a big shock and a real tragedy.

“If indeed people have deliberately done this, then I’m sure the police will do everything they can in order to catch them and to bring them to justice.

“We must leave the police to get all the facts together.”