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Top cop brands killer one of most evil he has known

John Fahey
16/12/2004

A TOP cop has branded killer Muhammed Arshad "one of the most evil murderers" he has ever encountered.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Brunskill, who led the investigation into the brutal murder of Zainab Begum, told the Observer this week that he was sickened by what he had seen.

He said: "Dealing with murders is my day job but this is one of the cruellest that I have ever dealt with. This was a brutal murder of a caring mother who was deeply loved by her six daughters and respected by her many friends."

Welcoming the guilty verdict, he claimed all hopes of finding Mrs Begum's remains were not yet lost, adding that he intended to re-interview both Arshad and his brother Mohammed Khan in the New Year.

He said: "Now that Arshad has been convicted, I hope he can find it in himself to tell us the truth and help us recover Zainab's body.

"Without his help, we may never find her.

"Khan will be eligible for parole in about three and half years so it is in his interests to tell us the truth".

Arshad said he dumped Mrs Begum's remains in industrial bins along the "Curry Mile" in Rusholme, Manchester.

But police refused to believe him.

Mr Brunskill said: "We took him out under guard to show us the route he allegedly took on the bus.

"But that route was stopped six months before the murder, and there was no CCTV footage of him dumping the remains."