Girl, 11, killed by brother's 'indefensible' punch

CORONER RULES FAMILY TRIED TO COVER UP FIT OF RAGE BUT THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR CHARGES

- PAUL BRITTON

AN 11-year-old girl died after being punched in the head by her older brother and the family then tried to cover it up, a coroner has ruled.

Falaq Babar was bathing one of her siblings in the bathroom of the family's home on Bury Road in Rochdale in February 2022. The girl was then subjected to an 'unprovoked, indefensible punch' by her brother, 23-year-old Suhail Mohammed. Just 21 minutes after an ambulance was called, he sent text messages to his girlfriend saying he had 'killed' his little sister. In the message, he wrote he had 'punched her on the head! Falaq died in hospital a month later.

Senior coroner, Joanne Kearsley, said Falaq was subject to an 'unprovoked, indefensible punch, but due to the evidence heard at the inquest, she would not be reporting the case back to Greater Manchester Police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Falaq, Ms Kearsley found, had an 'underlying, unknown malformation in the brain' described as extremely rare.

Giving evidence, Det Chief Insp Stuart Round said he felt there was 'sufficient evidence' to consult the CPS. But, he said, the CPS ruled there was 'no case, a situation he said he believed concerned the 'complexities' of the medical evidence.