LONDON: A trial date has been set for Oct 7 for three individuals accused of the murder of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her Woking, Surrey home in August last year.

British-Pakistani Urfan Sharif, 42, Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, 28, all of whom were living with the child before her death, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In addition to the murder charge, the three defendants also face allegations of causing or allowing the death of a child, a charge they also deny. 

The trial is expected to last seven weeks at the Old Bailey in London.

The incident came to lig­ht after Surrey Police received a call from Pakis­tan on Aug 10, which led to the discovery of the body.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries,” likely sustained over an ex­­tended period. Al­thou­gh the exact cause of death remains undetermined, authorities have stated that her death was probably “unnatural”.

The trio had fled to Islamabad with the victim’s five siblings on Aug 9, just one day before her body was discovered. They remained in hiding for over a month before returning to the UK where they were arrested on Sept 13 and subsequently charged two days later.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024