Leicester kebab shop fire was 'insurance scam', court hears
- Published
The jury watched CCTV footage of the moment the kebab shop exploded.
A man and woman helped to start a fire at a kebab shop in which another man died as part of an insurance scam, Leicester Crown Court has heard.
The body of 40-year-old Fiaz Ahmed Ansari was found in rubble of Kams King of the Grill, almost 15 hours after the explosion on 29 August 2011.
Shahbaz Khan, from Harrow, and Mehwish Yasin, from Birmingham, both aged 25, deny manslaughter and arson.
The jury heard the business had recently run into financial difficulty.
The prosecution said Ms Yasin drove Mr Ansari and Mr Khan to the kebab shop in the early hours and dropped them off.
They then used petrol to set fire to the kebab shop as part of a plan to claim on an insurance policy taken out a few weeks before the blaze, the prosecution alleges.
The shop, on Narborough Road, was completely destroyed, but it was initially believed that no-one had been hurt.
Mr Ansari's body was found during site clearance work the following day.
The trial continues.
- Published1 September 2011
- Published31 August 2011