Two in custody on murder charge

1:18pm Friday 7th March 2008

A 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy have been remanded in custody charged with the murder of a father of seven who was attacked in a Burnley park.

Mohammed Shafiq, 50, went to the aid of his 18-year-old son to break up a fight and was hit over the head with a blunt instrument and then stabbed in the stomach, police said.

He was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital following the incident in Thompson Park, on Tuesday afternoon but died later that day.

Mohammad Bilal Baktti, of Holcombe Drive, and the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke only to confirm their personal details and that they understood the charge during today's hearing at Burnley Magistrates' Court.

Both defendants are also accused of violent disorder in connection with the death of Mr Shafiq, of York Street, Nelson.

Two other men, Mohammed Shahdab Akhtar, 19, of Scott Park Road, Burnley, and Omar Khalid, 19, of Fairfield Drive, Burnley, also appeared in court charged with violent disorder.

All four were remanded in custody until their next hearing at Preston Crown Court on March 17.

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