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Harjit Chaggar: Two guilty of shop basement murder | Harjit Chaggar: Two guilty of shop basement murder |
(35 minutes later) | |
Two men have been found guilty of murdering a grandmother who was left to die in a shop basement. | |
Mohammed Islam, 29, from Gillingham, and Murshed Miah, 38, from Maidstone, attacked Harjit Chaggar at the store in Chatham, Kent, last September. | |
They were also found guilty of preventing Mrs Chaggar's lawful burial, along with Abdul Hannan, 44, from Maidstone, and Rasad Miah, of Chatham, | They were also found guilty of preventing Mrs Chaggar's lawful burial, along with Abdul Hannan, 44, from Maidstone, and Rasad Miah, of Chatham, |
Hannan was found not guilty of murder. The men denied all of the charges. | Hannan was found not guilty of murder. The men denied all of the charges. |
Islam worked as a butcher at the Sani Globe food store in Luton Road at the time Mrs Chaggar disappeared on 2 September. | Islam worked as a butcher at the Sani Globe food store in Luton Road at the time Mrs Chaggar disappeared on 2 September. |
Her badly decomposed body was found in the cellar 12 days later. | Her badly decomposed body was found in the cellar 12 days later. |
'Motive unclear' | |
Jurors at Canterbury Crown Court heard it was concealed in a bin bag under the floor boards and her injuries were consistent with being thrown into the basement while still alive. | |
Nigel Pilkington, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the motive for the murder was unclear. | |
He said some of Mrs Chaggar's belongings were missing and so the most probable motive was robbery. | |
Abdur Rohim, who used to cook at the food store, gave evidence from Bangladesh by video link. | |
He told the court he never met Mrs Chaggar, but said in the days leading up to the discovery of the body, there had been "a horrible smell" in the shop. | |
Mr Rohim said staff lit incense sticks to get rid of it. | |
Sani Globe has been described to the court as a grocery shop and a butchers which supplied local restaurants. | |
Jurors heard Hannan and his brother Murshed Miah ran the business while Rasad Miah worked in the shop along with Mr Islam. | |
Judge Adele Williams praised the dignity of Mrs Chaggar's family and the police investigation. | |
Shouting from the gallery, Hannan's wife said: "You've not been just. My husband is innocent." | |
Det Supt Rob Vinson, from Kent Police, said the men's silence meant he was unable to tell Mrs Chaggar's family exactly how and why she was attacked and left to die. |