Harlow: 'We remain determined to secure justice for the Shakoor family'

“Securing justice for Dr Shakoor is our determined aim and I remain very confident the answers to this absolute tragedy still lie within the Harlow community.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe leads on the death of six members of the Shakoor family, in Barn Mead, Harlow in October 2012.

Father, Dr Abdul Shakoor was the only survivor of the fire which claimed the lives of his wife 44-year-old Dr Sabah Usmani and five children – daughters Hira, 12, and Maheen, three, and sons Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, nine and Rayyan, six.

The family were asleep at their terraced home at 1.40am on 15 October 2012 when the fire took hold of the downstairs of the property. A silver Ford Focus was set alight at the same time in close proximity to the house fire.

The home was quickly engulfed by flames and smoke.

Desperate to raise the alarm and get help for his family, Dr Shakoor was able to jump from an upstairs window.

But tragically the fire took hold and Dr Shakoor’s wife and children did not survive.

Our murder investigation, called Operation Shakespeare, has been running for 12 years. It remains unsolved but we remain determined to bring those responsible for the fire to justice.

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said:

“Dr Shakoor lives with the unimaginable pain of losing his entire family; a wife who he had planned to grow old with; children who he imagined growing up and going on to do great things.
“But that future was taken from him exactly 12 years ago. For 12 years, no one has faced justice for what happened but I remain committed to changing that.”

DCI Metcalfe added:

“I have met with Dr Shakoor and I see his unwavering determination to see someone – or some people – held accountable for his family’s deaths. I am committed to doing all we can to give him that.”

The extensive investigation has seen more than 70 police officers and staff focus on the incident and the circumstances around it, with about 500 people coming forward to give witness statements and almost 2,000 items being examined.

DCI Metcalfe added:

“No case is ever closed, and this investigation has been regularly reviewed to identify new lines of enquiry.
“Securing justice for Dr Shakoor remains our determined aim and I remain very confident the answers to this absolute tragedy lie within the Harlow community.”

Detectives are continuing to appeal for information in relation to the following lines of enquiry:

• A white man aged in his late teens/early 20s on a bicycle seen in the area when the house and car were set alight. It is thought he could be a key witness.
• The family laptop, a black Toshiba Satellite, which was taken from the house in a burglary. This has not been located. Do you know where the laptop is or was?
• The laptop was fitted with a two-pin lead because it was bought in Saudi Arabia. The laptop bag and lead were later recovered near to the scene between Whitewaits and St Michael’s Close. Did you see these items being dumped or did you notice any suspicious activity in these areas at the time?
• Attached to the laptop lead was a shaver adapter plug. This did not belong to the Shakoor family which suggests someone tried to use the plug. Did you have a shaver plug missing from your home at the time?
• Do you know anything about the silver Ford Focus which was set alight?
• In November 2012 a person rang Harlow police station from a phone box and left a message about the fire. Are you that person? Please contact us.
• Also in November 2012 a piece of paper about the murder investigation was left on a shelf in Boots in Harlow. Did you leave that piece of paper?

Please contact us. 

Detectives investigating the fatal fire continue to appeal to the community for any information which could help bring those responsible to justice.

If you have any information, please get in contact with us. You can contact us through our Digital 101 service, or you can call 101.

Alternatively if you'd like to make an anonymous report, contact independent charity Crimestoppers by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111.