Saturday, October 26, 2013

Father started killer blaze after daughter planned to wed lover he didn't approve of

A father tried to wipe out his family and killed his wife after their daughter said she wanted to marry for love, a court heard.

Mohammed Inayat flew into a rage when his daughter Kalsoom Bibi told him she planned to move to Dubai to marry a policeman.

He said she had brought ‘dishonour on the family’ and allegedly threatened to kill her, before pouring gallons of petrol over his family home and setting it alight.

On the night of April 17 Inayat killed his wife Naika and injured his three daughters in a blaze that took seconds to engulf the house, Birmingham Crown Court heard. 

Naika died of carbon  monoxide poisoning and one of his  daughters, 16-year-old Saimah, who jumped from a bedroom window, suffered 50 per cent burns.

The father-of-six soaked seven parts of his home in petrol at about 5am as his family slept – only hours before Miss Bibi, 28, was set to fly to Dubai to marry the CID officer.

Inayat, 56, denies murder and also faces four charges of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

After initially telling police the fire was started by ‘a gang led by a white middle-aged woman’, he admitted one count of manslaughter.

‘You will hear about the intention of Kalsoom Bibi to marry a man she had fallen in love with,’ Philip Bennett QC, prosecuting told the court. 

‘For this defendant a love marriage was not appropriate. He was traditional in his beliefs  that marriage should be arranged.’

Miss Bibi, who is already divorced from a marriage arranged by her father, met her lover in 2011 but had to travel in secret to see him in Dubai. 

When her family discovered the affair in December last year, they disapproved, and her father became increasingly angry and upset, the jury heard.

    Miss Bibi, who works for World Duty Free, said: ‘He told me he would kill me and that he would poison himself if I married him.

    ‘He said I would bring disgrace to the family. He was not happy with it. I understand why he wasn’t happy, it was because he had never met the man.

    ‘It took him a long time to accept it, but he did in the end because he could see it was what I wanted.’ 

    On the night of the fire Miss Bibi woke to find flames coming under her bedroom door.

    ‘You woke up your friend Amena, who had been sleeping in the room, she told you that you needed to jump out of the window with her,’ said Mr Bennett. 

    ‘Outside Amena tried to get help and you heard a terrible scream from your father. Amena dragged you away from the house.’ 

    Miss Bibi suffered a broken arm and three broken vertebrae after leaping from the window of the terraced house in Tyseley, Birmingham. 

    Inayat, who is originally from Pakistan, told the jury he tried to kill himself on the night of the fire, using three kitchen knives. 

    He then claimed he attempted  to tie electrical cord around  his neck before pouring petrol over himself.

    Speaking through an interpreter, the unshaven former cleaner said he had been diagnosed with depression. 

    ‘I didn’t know what I was doing,’ he said. ‘I said ‘‘I want to meet him in this country’’ and then I agree with her that the whole world does it.

     I told her I am willing to travel with you.’

    Referring to the fire he said: ‘I wanted to scare them, I did not want any harm to come to them. I love them.’ 

    The trial continues.

    No comments: