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Rui Vieira/PA Wire/Press Association Images
The scene of a house fire at Wood Hill, in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester which claimed the lives of four people.
# Tragic
Wife and children of Dublin-based doctor killed in Leicester house fire
Police have launched a murder inquiry, with a possible link between the blaze and another death.
Updated 10.56pm
THE VICTIMS OF a house fire in Leicester have been identified as the wife and three teenage children of Beaumont Hospital doctor Taufiq Sattar.
The neurosurgeon’s family were inside their terraced home in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester when the blaze broke out in the early hours of this morning.
His wife Shehnila, their two teenage sons (15 and 17) and their 19-year-old daughter all died in the fire. A murder investigation is underway.
Sattar’s colleagues in the Dublin hospital have expressed their shock at the tragic loss.
In a statement, the board and staff of Beaumont hospital said they “learned, with shock, of the tragic loss suffered by our colleague Mr Taufiq Sattar”.
We wish to express our sincere condolences to Mr Sattar and assure him that our support and thoughts are with him at this terrible time.
The comments were echoed by staff at Blackrock Clinic and Hermitage Clinic in Dublin, where the neurosurgeon was a consultant. Describing him as “our dear colleague”, staff said in a statement that their “thoughts and prayers are with Mr Sattar at this most difficult time”.
Investigation
Detectives have said they cannot rule out the possibility that the incident was linked to another murder earlier in the week.
On Thursday evening, emergency services were called to a scene where a man was assaulted. The victim, who was in his 20s, was taken to the Leicester Royal Infirmary for treatment but he died a short time later.
According to Sky News, police said the crimes may be linked because of the close locations and timing.
“I can’t confirm here and now it is a revenge attack – it may be, it may not be – but lines of inquiry will certainly get to the bottom of that,” said Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister.
Neither the family nor the man who was killed were previously known to police.
Originally published 2.14pm
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