Evil killers ‘used and abused an older man’
Brother of victim speaks out after duo are jailed for life
THE brother of a vulnerable man murdered by two lovers says his killer ers have destroyed several fa families - after they were jailed fo for life.
Muhammed Arif bludgeoned father-of-two Mohammed Yousaf to death as he slept in bed in his home on Granville Street, Accrington last September in a ‘brutal and cowardly’ act.
This week Arif, of Washington Street, Accrington, and Mr Yousaf’s wife Rukhsana Bibi, who plotted his killing to profit from a £244,000 life insurance policy, were convicted of his murder after a five-week Preston Crown Court trial.
Following the verdicts, Mohammed Shabir welcomed the sentences and said Arif and Bibi, of Wood Street, Todmorden, had preyed on his 65-year-old brother’s good nature. He said: “They targeted him because he was an older man, they used him and abused him. They have destroyed a lot of families.”
DCI Joanne McHugh said: “This murder was ruthlessly planned by Arif and Bibi, who manipulated a vulnerable and gentle member of the community, before taking everything they possibly could from him for their own financial gain.
“Mohammed Yousaf’s death is nothing short of the coldblooded assassination of a wholly innocent man.”
THE family of Mohammed Yousaf and community leaders say ‘justice has been done’ after his killers were jailed for life.
Mr Yousaf’s brother Mohammed Shabir, from Accrington, said murderers Muhammed Arif and his lover Rukhsana Bibi had ‘targeted, used and abused’ him for his trusting nature.
He told the Observer their actions had ‘destroyed’ families and the long sentences were fitting for their crimes.
Speaking after the sentencing hearing Mr Shabir, 40, said: “It was a complete shock to hear all that they had done and planned. We never knew anything about it until the trial happened. I had seen them in Accrington but I didn’t know them personally. I never knew they were hanging around with my brother. He was a very straightforward person, he wouldn’t think twice about trusting people and he trusted these people who murdered him.
“They targeted him because he was an older man, they used him and abused him. They have destroyed a lot of families.
“But those sentences they have got, that is a loud and proud message out there for them - I am very pleased with the result and what the judge came out with. It does bring some peace.”
The father-of-six added: “I am very pleased with the result and that we have justice for what they did to my brother.
“He was very highly thought of, he was a great guy my brother, we were very close. I miss him a lot and there will be no-one who will take his place.”
Mr Yousaf had lived on Craven Street in Accrington for over 30 years, and regularly attended the Higher Antley Street and Grimshaw Street mosques in Accrington and also the Scaitcliffe Community Centre. After his death Coun Abdul Khan described him as ‘one of the nicest chaps you could ever meet’.
Spring Hill ward councillor and family friend Munsif Dad said justice had prevailed. He added: “When he was murdered the community was very shocked, they were very touched by his death.
“We know Mr Yousaf and we know his killers. They were welcomed into the community in Accrington. They way they planned and executed the plan, we couldn’t believe that those two people who he trusted very closely would do that to him.
“It’s horrible, in a small, very close knit community in Accrington that this has happened. Mr Yousaf is in our prayers and in our thoughts and we will continue supporting the family. They have gone through a lot and now there is a verdict I hope they can put him to rest and live the best they can.”
He added: “As a community we are pleased that justice has been done because these people needed to be held to account and they have been, it was very important for the family. The sentences speak for the awful crime they committed.”