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Arooj Shah case: Police make second arrest

Arooj Shah case: Police make second arrest

POLICE arrested a second man in connection with an arson attack on a council leader's car, reported the BBC.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life, the report added.


A 23-year-old previously held on suspicion of the same offence has been released on conditional bail.

The vehicle of Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah, the first Muslim woman council leader to lead a northern authority, was firebombed in the early hours of Tuesday (13).

The car was damaged following the incident, which also destroyed a neighbouring property, reports said.

Firefighters put out the blaze and nobody was hurt. Police later confirmed it had been started deliberately, the BBC report said.

Detective chief inspector Wesley Knights, of Greater Manchester Police, appealed again for anyone with information to come forward.

He said: "This second arrest hopefully sends a message that we will not rest until the circumstances around this incident are fully understood, and we have found and brought to justice those responsible for this reckless act."

Shah has been leading the local authority since May after the previous leader Sean Fielding lost his seat.

Calling the incident a “cowardly attack,” the Labour peers and politicians across Greater Manchester town have strongly condemned the incident.

Shah has lived in Glodwick, one of England’s poorest wards, her whole life after her parents reportedly moved to the UK from Pakistan in the late 1960s.

After being elected leader of the council in May, she has spoken of her struggles battling racism and misogyny, as well as the opposition she had faced from traditionalists within her community.

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