Murder of Harlow family in house fire subject of new £20k appeal

Dr Sabah Usmani and her five children died in the fire at their home in October 2012

A father who "lost everything" when his family were killed in a house fire said he was hopeful a renewed appeal and reward could bring closure.

Dr Abdul Shakoor's wife Dr Sabah Usmani, sons Muneeb, nine, and Rayyan, six, and daughter Hira, 12, died in the fire at their Harlow home in 2012.

Son Sohaib, 11, and daughter Maheen, three, died in hospital.

Police are treating their deaths as murder and hope a reward of up to £20,000 will lead to a conviction.

Dr Shakoor appeared on BBC One's Crimewatch Live earlier, along with the lead detective in the case.

"Obviously it's not easy as I lost my whole family, I lost everything," he told the BBC.

"My life will never be the same again. We hope something good will come out [of the appeal] and we can get some closure."

Dr Abdul Shakoor says he repeatedly questions why the tragedy happened

The family woke in the early hours of 15 October 2012 at their home in Barn Mead to a loud bang and thick black smoke.

After calling for help from their bedroom window and being unable to gather his family to safety, Dr Shakoor jumped out of the window to find someone to help.

He suffered severe smoke inhalation.

Firefighters had to physically restrain him from going back into the property to save his loved ones.

Dr Abdul Shakoor, pictured third left at his family's funeral in 2012, is hopeful the renewed appeal will lead to answers

Essex Police believes the fire was started deliberately by burglars and it has said the answer lies within the Harlow community.

At the same time as the house fire, a neighbour's car was also alight. Police are connecting the two incidents.

Eleven days later, police discovered Dr Shakoor's laptop bag and a cable, which were dumped in bushes a couple of miles away. The laptop has never been found.

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe suggested that loyalties may have changed in the local community

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe said: "This was one of the most tragic events in Essex Police history - where a man has lost his entire family and has never got justice."

A total of seven people have been arrested in connection with the fire but none have ever been charged, Dr Ch Insp Metcalfe explained.

She said there were a number of key aspects in the case police were still seeing answers to, including:

• A white male thought to be in his 20s was seen cycling away from the area. He has not come forward and police want to speak with him

• Dr Shakoor's laptop, which had a two-pin plug, was taken and has never been found. Police want to locate it

• A paper note about the fire was left in a Boots store in Harlow some time afterwards. Police want to speak with its author

• Some days after the deaths, an anonymous caller rang Essex Police about the fire. Detectives want to know who that person was

Speaking to BBC, she said she strongly believed there were members of the public who were carrying vital information.

"Maybe their situation or loyalties have changed. Now is their time to speak as it's not too late. Dr Abdul Shakoor deserves to know what happened," she said.

Anyone with any information about the fire were asked to contact police or the independent charity Crimestoppers, which offered "up to" £20,000 for information leading to a conviction.

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