11 September 2023 , 14:08
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Sara Sharif's granddad says five kids who travelled from the UK to Pakistan with the 10-year-old's dad have been taken from his home, where they had been hiding.
The relative's neighbours reported seeing dozens of officers raiding the property today.
Sara, 10, was found dead at her family's home in Woking on August 10. Her father Urfan Sharif and his partner Beinash Batool then fled the country. A post-mortem examination found she had suffered "multiple and extensive injuries" over a "sustained and extended" period of time.
Sara's grandfather Muhammad Sharif (BBC)Sara's granddad Muhammad Sharif told the BBC he'd been hiding the remaining five children at his home in Jhelum, in Pakistan's north-east. He would not disclose how long they'd been there. At around 11.30am GMT (16.30pm local), neighbours said cops had started a raid on the property - with traffic outside stopped and people prevented from filming on their phones. Mr Sharif said the youngsters were taken away during the raid.
Sara's fugitive father and stepmother described her death as an 'incident' (TWITTER)Speaking with the BBC, a neighbour said: ""Police officers including female officers raided the house. They broke the CCTV at the entrance and entered it. While inside, more officers arrived outside and stopped the traffic. They stopped everyone from filming on their mobile phones."
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Mr Sharif has previously denied being in contact with his son, other than to tell him to hand himself in to police. It comes two days after a police spokesman in Jehlum said that Urfan Sharif and his wife Batool were in hiding, and that 10 close relatives had been hauled into custody for further questioning.
A Surrey Police handout of Urfan Sharif (Surrey Police/AFP via Getty Imag)
Beinash Batool, Urfan's wife and Sara's stepmother (Surrey Police/AFP via Getty Imag)Among those detained included Muhammad Sharif, the father of Urfan, his brothers and cousins, the spokesman said. Police in Pakistan often detain the close relatives of wanted suspects. However, they are not kept in jail to avoid the intervention of a court. On Wednesday, Sara's stepmother spoke publicly for the first time since the little girl was found dead.
In a clip of the footage posted online by Sky, Batool shows no emotion as she describes Sara's death as "an incident" and says that she and Sharif are willing to co-operate with UK authorities over the case. Sharif and Batool left Britain with five children aged between one and 13, and Surrey Police want to question them over Sara's death.
Sara's mother Olga Sharif gave an interview to the Polish television programme Uwaga! in which she spoke of the harrowing experience of going to view her daughter's body. She said: "One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised. Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like."