Five arrested over Leicester arson attack

Leicestershire Police arrested five people yesterday in connection to a house fire that caused the death of a neurosurgeon’s wife and his three children on Friday morning.

Three women and two men are now detained on suspicion of having set fire to Muhammad Taufiq Al Sattar’s house, resulting in the deaths of Shehnila Taufiq, 47, Bilal, 17, Jamal, 15, and Zainab, 19.

According to police the house was mistakenly targeted in a revenge attack for the earlier murder of Antoin Akpom, a coach and former player at Leicester Nirvana FC.

Aside from a possible case of mistaken identity, the police say that there is no connection between the fire and the coach’s killing.

Indeed, Leicestershire police’s assistant chief constable, Roger Bannister, stated: “While we are investigating links between the two crimes, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest those who died in the fire, or indeed anyone else who lives in that property, was involved in the assault.

“Because of the close proximity – in terms of time and location – of the two incidents, it is right that we look at whether there are links between the two crimes. However, at this stage in our investigations we have found nothing to suggest the residents of the house devastated by the fire had anything to do with the [earlier] Kent Street incident.”

Flying back from Ireland, where he currently works, Dr Taufiq Al Sattar spoke briefly of his loss saying: “I deeply miss my beautiful wife and three beautiful children. What has happened has happened, and nothing can be reversed, but I hope justice prevails and in future, this should not happen to any family in the UK.”

He then thanked the local community for its understanding and support following the tragic incident.

Camilla Capasso