The uncle of 10-year-old Sara Sharif who was found dead in a house in Woking has told police in Pakistan she “fell down the stairs and broke her neck”.
Sara’s uncle Imran Sharif is being quizzed by police in Pakistan, Sky News reported, but is said to not be under arrest and has not been charged.
Sara Sharif was found dead in Woking, Surrey, after police were called from Pakistan by her father, Urfan Sharif, at 2.50am on August 10, Surrey Police said.
Urfan, 41, his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are wanted for questioning by Surrey Police.
They are thought to have travelled from the UK to Islamabad the day before the discovery of Sara, with five children aged between one and 13.
Citing police in Jhelum, Pakistan, Sky News reported that Imran Sharif told officers he did not know of his brother’s whereabouts, and that he told them: “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.”
He is also alleged to have said: “Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan."
A post-mortem examination carried out last week did not establish the cause of Sara’s death.
But Surrey Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman said officers knew the girl “had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period”.
Police in Pakistan previously found evidence that the girl’s father had briefly returned to Jhelum, before leaving and disappearing, according to the AP news agency.
It was revealed last week that Sara was known to the family’s local council, with Surrey County Council saying they were "working tirelessly with our safeguarding partners to gain a full understanding of the situation as quickly as possible".
Locals spoke of their shock and fear the day after the 10-year-old’s body was discovered.
Many of the flowers left on the pavement outside the house had heartfelt messages written by local families attached, while one person left a stuffed unicorn.
One note read: “Sweet girl, I’m so sorry that your sparkle was put out too soon."
