Man Gets Life Term For Murder, Rape of Niece in UK

By Little India Desk | February 15, 2018

A UK court sentenced British Pakistani accused Mujahid Arshid to life imprisonment on Feb.14 after finding him guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Celine Dookhran, his 20-year-old Indian-origin niece.

Arshid, a 33-year-old builder, killed Dookhran at a house at Kingston, south west London, in July last year in a fit of jealous rage. He slit her throat and then dumped her body into a freezer, the Old Bailey court was told. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of a friend of the victim, also a 20-year-old Indian-origin woman, who escaped with injuries, PTI reported.

The builder was also convicted of sexual assault charges against the second woman between 2008 and 2010. The second woman has not been named due to legal reasons.

The court, presided by Justice Anthony Edis, ordered him to serve at least 40 years in prison before being considered for parole. As the verdict was read out in court, Arshid shouted, saying it was the second woman who killed Dookhran, saying: “I will prove that lying b*tch wrong.”

The second woman had given her testimony to court from behind a curtain. “He molested Celine’s body while she was dead and then he molested me thinking I was dead. He’s such a psycho.”

She escaped him “by saying things he wanted to hear” and pretending to be in love with him. She told the court: “I started saying things he wanted to hear, ‘I love you, we can run away together, we can be happy together, we can have a family’.”

She told the jury that she still has “flashbacks and nightmares” and that her physical scars from the attack are a “constant reminder of” what Celine and she went through.

Dookhran’s mother’s statement was also read out in court. The statement said that her daughter “fell victim to pure evil” and that “coming to terms with her death is likely to be a lifelong assignment”.

The co-defendant, Vincent Tappu, a laborer employed by Arshid, was acquitted of all charges against him. The charges included the kidnap, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm with intent. Tappu thanked the jury for their verdict.

In July 2017, Arshid, who was “sexually fixated” with the two women, abducted and took them to the six bedroom house he was renovating in south London. The women were bound, gagged, raped and their throats were slit. While Dookhran was found dead, the second woman managed to escape, and was rescued by Arshid’s brother. She had to undergo an extensive surgery after the attack. After she escaped, Arshid fled to Folkestone, Kent, where he was arrested.

Dookhran was found in the freezer, face down, “at an awkward angle consistent with her having been stuffed inside,” arms covered in blood, the prosecutor had submitted to the court.

The jury delivered the verdict after 14 hours of consideration of the case.