A neighbour of Sara Sharif has revealed that a 10-year-old Woking girl was seen in school with ‘cuts and bruises to her face and neck’ months before she was found dead at her Pakistani father’s house, reported BBC.
Sara’s father Ufran Malik, uncle Faisal, and stepmother Beinash fled to Pakistan with five of her siblings after her death. They were hiding in the country after arriving in Jhelum.
The statement from Sara Sharif’s neighbour came weeks after her death on August 10.
The woman said she learned about the injuries to Sara Sharif from her daughter, who was one of the girl’s classmates.
Jessica told to the BBC that Sara was a confident child who always skipped school but in April Sara had gone to school with clearly visible injuries, Jassica’s daughter told her.
“Just before the Easter holidays she was in school and had cuts and bruises on her face and her neck,” Jessica said.
“My daughter had asked what had happened and she said she’d fallen off a bike and then kind of walked away,” She added.
“The next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home-schooled,”
Jessica added that she never saw Sara at the school again.
Earlier, a woman, who did not want to be named, told BBC that Sara’s father’s second wife Beinash told her that the girl was being home-schooled after being bullied for wearing a Hijab.
“I suggested to Beinash that Sara needed to be with children of her own age,” said the neighbour. “She replied that she was making friends at the mosque and in her swimming lessons.
“Another time I remarked to Beinash that it must be difficult to home-school Sara, especially as she had the baby to look after. She said it was very easy.”
The neighbour said Sara seemed to be a “reserved and quiet” child.
“She often carried the baby in her arms, and sometimes I saw her playing with him. I never saw her smile or laugh.”
A post-mortem examination failed to establish the exact cause of Sara’s death, with more tests being carried out. However, the post-mortem report shows ‘multiple and extensive injuries’ found on Sara’s body.
Two of Sara Sharif’s paternal uncles were detained in Pakistan for questioning but later released. One of them Imran told the police that Sara died when she broke her neck from a fall.
Urfan was not at home at the time and Beinash panicked and then she called Ufran, Imran was quoted as saying by MailOnline.