Police quiz two women over battered bodies found in Bradford lane

Detectives from West Yorkshire Police said the women, aged 26 and 63, were arrested at an address in the Leeds Road area of Bradford yesterday.

Both women were being held in custody last night and facing questions from the force inquiry team.

The murder victims have been named as 27-year-old Shahbzada Muhammed Imran, known locally as Imran Khan, of Gloucester Avenue, Bradford, and Ahmedin Sayed Khyel, aged 35, from London.

The men’s badly beaten bodies were found drenched in blood on Tuesday evening by a passing motorist in New Lane, Bradford, a quiet country road close to the picturesque village of Tong to the south-east of the city.

The condition of the two men’s bodies when found was reportedly so bad that detectives were initially unable to give accurate ages for the pair, or even establish their ethnicity.

Their identities were finally confirmed by officers yesterday, and Det Supt Dick Nuttall of West Yorkshire Police said last night: “We now know that both the men left the house in Gloucester Avenue at around 8pm on Tuesday evening. They were together and on foot.

“I am appealing for anyone who saw the men in the area at this time to contact us, so that we can piece together their movements in the period before their death.”

Forensic inquiries were last night being carried out by officers at a separate address in Heath Terrace, Bradford.

A police spokeswoman said a vehicle which may have been involved in the incident had also been recovered from the Whetley Lane area of the city.

Det Supt Nuttall said: “Any witnesses, or anyone with any information which could assist in our investigations, is urged to contact the force incident room immediately on 01924 334693.”

Officers have been scouring closed circuit TV footage from around the area following the discovery of the bodies on Tuesday night. New Lane is a rural, single track lane leading down to Holme Wood, with farms and fields on either side.

Yesterday’s dramatic arrests came just hours after police had detained two men on suspicion of killing another man whose burning body was dumped in a Yorkshire park on Thursday, less than a mile from where the other corpses were found.

West Yorkshire Police yesterday arrested the suspects, aged 39 and 32, following the discovery of the body on a bonfire in Pit Hill Park, near Holme Lane, Bradford.

Detectives have ruled out any link between the two incidents.

The Yorkshire Post understands that the third man’s body, found by firefighters on Thursday morning, was so badly burned that it could be several days before police formally identify him.

The investigation has centred on a house in Eggleston Drive, in Holme Wood, where forensic officers searched for clues yesterday.

Det Supt Paul Taylor, who is leading the investigation into the second incident, said: “We are not drawing any connection to the recent incident on New Lane, in Tong.

“I believe the answers to this discovery near Holme Lane lie locally, and we would ask anyone who may have any information or any witnesses to contact the police immediately.”

A post mortem examination on the burned body took place yesterday, but the findings are yet to be released.

Nearby residents and local politicians have expressed their shock at the spree of killings, which all occurred within a 36-hour spell earlier this week.

Bradford Council leader Ian Greenwood has described the situation as “horrifying”.

Despite the two crimes not being linked, inquiry teams have been sharing information and visible patrols involving mounted police have been stepped up in an effort to reassure worried residents.

The bodies of Mr Imran and Mr Khyel were found just yards from a layby in Tong where a drug dealer was shot dead in a gangland killing nine years ago. Philip Smith, 29, was shot dead by one of his pushers, Nicholas Hickson, who was jailed for life in March 2003.