‘Murdered’ Sara Sharif, 10, ‘was pulled out of school by her father and his partner who said she was being bullied for wearing a hijab’- as manhunt for on-the-run couple continues
The ten-year-old girl found dead inside her home had been homeschooled in the months prior to her death after being ‘bullied for wearing a headscarf’, it has been claimed.
Police discovered Sara Sharif’s body with a catalogue of injuries at the house in Woking, Surrey, following a phonecall made by her father Urfan Sharif, 41, on August 10.
Investigators launched an international manhunt to trace Sharif, who was believed to already be in Pakistan at the time of the call, along with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28.
Five other children, aged between 13 and one, had also vanished along with Sharif and the other two adults.
A neighbour claimed they were told that Sara – a ‘bubbly, confident little girl’ – was being home schooled after bullies picked on her for wearing a hijab, the BBC reports.
Sara Sharif, 10, was reportedly seen with ‘cuts and bruises to her face and neck’ the day before being withdrawn from school. a
Urfan Sharif (left) fled the UK with his partner Beinash Batool (centre), brother Faisal Malik (right). They are wanted for questioning over Sara’s murder
READ MORE: TEN-YEAR-OLD SARA WAS SEEN IN SCHOOL ‘WITH CUTS AND BRUISES TO HER FACE’
An unnamed neighbour said: ‘I suggested to Beinash that Sara needed to be with children her own age.’
Batool is said to have responded that Sara was making friends at the mosque and in her swimming lessons.
The neighbour added: ‘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 as she used BBC Bitesize.’
It was revealed this week that Sara’s uncle Imran Sharif, who has not been arrested or charged, told police in Pakistan that his niece fell down the stairs during an ‘accident’.
He reportedly told officers: ‘I found out what happened to Sara through the international media.
‘Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.
‘My parents told me Urfan briefly came home very upset. He kept saying ‘they’ are going to take his children away from him.’
Imran Sharif denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, Jhelum police said.
The young girl was previously a pupil a St Mary’s Church of England primary school in Byflett. It is understood to be unclear whether was officially registered as being home-schooled by the local authority.
The school’s headteacher Jacquie Chambers said the Year 5 pupil who had ‘the most beautiful smile’.
She added: ‘[Sara] was full of ideas and was very passionate about the things she believed in.
‘Sara will be dearly missed and, as a school community, we are all deeply affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy are with those affected by this heartbreaking news.’
Sara’s Polish uncle shared new pictures of her with MailOnline as he appealed to police to find the ‘scumbag’ responsible for her death
Police were called by Sara’s father, 41, who is understood to have rushed to Islamabad
Sara Sharif’s uncle Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside her father Urfan and Urfan’s partner Beinash
Police fear Beinash Batool, 29, pictured, joined the two men and travelled to Jhelum, in the Punjab region in north-west Pakistan
Sara pictured playing in a garden – her body was tragically found at the family home
Ms Chambers insisted it would be ‘inappropriate to comment further’ due to the police investigation, adding that the school was cooperating with inquiries.
Surrey County Council stated a national child safeguarding panel had been made aware of Sarah’s death, lead to a multi-agency rapid review.
Council leader Tim Oliver said: ‘We are working tirelessly with our safeguarding partners to gain a full understanding of the situation as quickly as possible. This is an incredibly sad situation and our thoughts and deepest condolences are with everyone affected.’
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Polish uncle of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif, 10, urges police to ‘catch the scumbag who killed my niece’ – as international manhunt continues
Sara’s distraught mother Olga Sharif has rubbished claims made by her daughter’s Uncle Imran that her child fell down the stairs.
‘He could have just made that claim to protect his brother and try to stop questions being asked. I don’t think he is being honest,’ she told The Sun, as she claimed Urfan could have ‘lied’ to his sibling about what happened.
‘The only person I want answers from is Urfan. He has to be questioned about what’s happened to my daughter,’ she added.
The anguished mother said she needed to know why her little girl was left in that house ‘whilst everyone flew out of the country after she was already dead’.
Insisting she will ‘never have closure’ until she knows what happened to her daughter, Ms Sharif pleaded: ‘Urfan has to do the right thing because he can’t hide away forever.
‘Eventually, someone will find him and he will be forced to answer all the questions about what has happened.’
Her comments came as Sara’s heartbroken Polish uncle told MailOnline he was desperate for police to ‘catch the scumbag that killed my niece’,
The grieving relative, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, revealed how Sharif was a gambler and claimed he is prone to violence – with police often called to the family home in Woking, Surrey, when Sara lived with her real mum Olga.
Sara’s mother Olga Sharif, 36, has rubbished ‘baseless’ claims her daughter fell down the stairs and broke her neck
Sara Sharif’s Polish uncle shared photos of his niece with the MailOnline
Sara, 10, was found dead in the home she shared with her father Urfan Sharif
He even claimed how former taxi driver Sharif – who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan – even chillingly once told Olga during a custody battle after they divorced over their two children to ‘stop complaining or she would be found dead somewhere’.
READ MORE: Sara Sharif ‘fell down the stairs and broke her neck’, claims the tragic 10-year-old’s uncle – as murder detectives continue global manhunt for three who fled UK
He spoke as reports revealed police had ‘historic contact’ with the family of Sara Sharif that ‘goes back some years’.
Det Supt Chapman told the BBC: ‘Surrey Police’s contact with the family has been on a limited basis. It’s been on a historic basis. And that goes back some time.’
He said police interaction with the schoolgirl’s family ‘goes back some years’ but declined to expand on his comment. MailOnline has contacted Surrey Police for further comment.
Speaking to MailOnline, the Polish uncle said: ‘After Sara was born, they had some financial troubles and we couldn’t visit them as often. We knew there was a conflict between Olga and Urfan although Olga was not very open about it. She didn’t discuss their trouble with her family, maybe with her mother. They need to catch the scumbag that killed my niece.
‘At the beginning Urfan was very charming but he was an actor, he deceived us all. Urfan was a gambler, he was addicted. He used to borrow money for gambling machines. His friends and cousins used to spend a lot of time in their home not allowing Olga to walk around the house unattended.
‘His behaviour led to conflict and then physical and psychological violence. Police were called many times. There was an incident when Urfan locked Olga and the kids in a room with no food or water for many hours. Olga called us asking for help but Urfan heard the conversation, took the phone away and beat Olga. Living in Germany we called the UK police to Urfan and Olga’s home.
Sara’s mother, Polish woman Olga Sharif, 36, pictured left, who was married to Mr Sharif between 2009 to 2017, urged her ex-husband to ‘come forward and explain himself’
READ MORE: Murdered ten-year-old Sara Sharif was KNOWN to authorities before she was found dead at family home in Woking
‘After having a fight with Olga he used to call our family to b**** about Olga, afterwards he would threaten to hurt her, take her kids away.
‘Olga was financially dependent on him, he used to scare her saying she has no rights in the UK as she doesn’t speak English that well.
‘At some point he threatened her saying if she keeps getting on his nerves about the children some day she will be found dead somewhere.’
Police were called by Urfan at 2.50am after landing in Islamabad, where he travelled with five children, aged between one and 13. Sara was one of six siblings.
Her uncle in Pakistan, Imran Sharif, has not been charged but is said to be assisting the hunt for his brother, Sara’s father, after it was reported police in Pakistan are under ‘tremendous pressure’ from the British High Commission to find him.
Sky News reports that Imran Sharif claims Sara had an accident at home.
He allegedly told officers: ‘Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.’
Surrey Police said a post-mortem revealed that Sara ‘suffered multiple and extensive injuries’, which they said were ‘likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time’.
Her exact cause of death remains unknown, and further tests are being carried out to establish this.
Imran Sharif denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, Jhelum police said.
He reportedly told officers: ‘I found out what happened to Sara through the international media. My parents told me Urfan briefly came home very upset. He kept saying ‘they’ are going to take his children away from him.’
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