Essex: £20,000 reward to find those responsible for murder of Shakoor family

We are making an appeal for anonymous information about the murder of the Shakoor family in Harlow, Essex, which happened 11 years ago. A reward of up to £20,000 is now available.

On Monday, 15 October 2012, Dr Abdul Shakoor was the only survivor of a fire at the family home in Barn Mead. 

The blaze took the lives of his wife, Dr Sabah Usmani who was 44-years-old, and their five young children; daughters Hira (12), Maheen (three), and sons Sohaib (11), Muneeb (nine) and Rayyan (six).

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The whole family were asleep when the fire was started deliberately at around 1.40am and tore through the downstairs of their home. The entire house was soon engulfed with flames and smoke. Dr Shakoor was able to escape from an upstairs window to raise the alarm, but it was sadly too late for his family. 

The Shakoor family
*** Our charity – which is independent of the police - is supporting this investigation by offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information we exclusively receive, that leads to the arrest and conviction of any person linked to this incident. The reward is available for three months and is due to expire on 20 June 2024***
 
It is believed the Shakoor home had been burgled before the fire was started. There is also a possible connection between this incident and a silver Ford Focus being set alight close to the scene. Investigating officers are keen to speak with anyone who remembers anything from that night. 

Shakoor family home in Barn Mead

“This is a sad and tragic case where a mother and all of her children senselessly lost their lives. I cannot even begin to imagine the grief that Dr Shakoor has and is still experiencing. We would like justice for him and his family.
 
“We know that speaking up about crime can be daunting. Our charity understands why there can be a reluctance to come forward with information. We hope that with the passage of time, this will be easier. 
 
“Crimestoppers is completely independent of the police. You can make a difference by passing on what you know whilst being protected by our guarantee of anonymity. This means no police, no courts, no witness statements. Put simply, when you contact our charity via our website or on the phone, there’s no comeback.
 
“Please speak up and tell us what you know anonymously by either calling our UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or by using our website’s secure online form. We can take information in up to 150 different languages. 
 
“We cannot trace your call or track your IP address. No one will ever know you contacted us. You may think your information is insignificant, however it could make all the difference and you will be doing the right thing for the Shakoor family.”
 
Phil Breckon, Eastern Regional Manager at the charity Crimestoppers

***Information passed directly to police will not qualify for a reward. Only information given to our charity using our anonymous online form or via Fearless.org for young people or by calling our UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111 will qualify***
 
Anonymity:
Please note: With Crimestoppers and Fearless, when you visit our sites, computer IP addresses are never traced. Telephone calls are never recorded, there is no caller line display and no 1471 facility. We are completely independent of the police and guarantee that your personal identity will always be protected. 
 
Claiming a reward:
The reward will only be payable for information passed directly to Crimestoppers and not to the police. A reward code must be asked for when calling our charity on 0800 555 111. If you contact Crimestoppers via our anonymous online form, the 'keeping in contact’ facility must be used and a reward code must be requested on your initial contact with our charity. 
 
More information about rewards can be found here. The reward is available until 20 June 2024 as rewards offered for specific cases generally expire after three months.