Rochdale grooming gang rapist ‘may have fled UK'

Telegraph

a day ago

A Rochdale grooming gang member who has been on the run from police for six months may have fled Britain.
Kasir Bashir, 50, was one of seven men convicted of the sexual exploitation of two white teenage girls in the town between 2001 and 2006.
He was part of a gang who preyed on the vulnerabilities of young girls with 'deeply troubled home lives' to groom them as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13.
Bashir, who worked as a market stall holder in Rochdale, repeatedly raped and abused a teenager at a dark, dinghy flat in Oldham. He was in his mid-20s when he exploited the young and vulnerable girl.
The men – aged 67 to 41 – plied the girls with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes before expecting them to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the defendants and other men wanted, in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses.
On the eve of the trial in January, he disappeared. One week later, proceedings at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court were derailed when a jury member asked questions about his absence that his defence argued showed prejudice.
Bashir, from Oldham, was found guilty last month, alongside six other men, after the trial was restarted in his absence.
After the trial, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced that an international manhunt was underway and on Sunday it emerged that Bashir may have fled Britain, although this is not certain.
Bashir surrendered his passport as part of bail conditions set by a crown court judge before the trial, the Manchester Evening News reported.
If Bashir, who has been on a police 'critical wanted' list since January, has left Britain he will have done so by illegitimate means, making him harder to track down.
Paul Waugh, the MP for Rochdale, asked how Bashir was able to abscond and why he was not considered more of a flight risk.
It is reported that he had been complying with his bail conditions – which included living and sleeping at a given address, surrendering his passport and attending Rochdale Police Station once a week – up to, and including, the Thursday before his trial.
Co-defendants remanded in custody
Three of Bashir's co-defendants – Mohammed Shahzad, Naheem Akram, and Nisar Hussain – were also out on bail when he went missing.
Police received intelligence that the trio were planning to leave the country and they were remanded in custody ahead of the trial.
They all denied the allegation, but Judge Jonathan Seely said the court was not prepared to take the risk that they might abscond.
Bashir, of Napier Street East, Oldham, was convicted in absentia of multiple counts of rape and indecency with a child, referred to in press reports as Child B. Six other men from Greater Manchester were found guilty of a series of offences.
Mr Waugh said: 'It is deeply alarming that this disgusting grooming gang member absconded on the eve of his trial.
'I have written to both the Ministry of Justice [MoJ] and GMP to ask exactly why a suspected child rapist like Bashir was not considered more of a flight risk or more of a danger to society.
'There are serious questions to answer about the assessment of his suitability for bail and why he was not remanded in custody. The fact that he is at large will rightly anger many of my constituents.'
He added: 'Ultimately, this is a matter for the crown court judge in this case. But I have asked the justice minister to check whether there can be a review of the bail decision by the Attorney General, given the natural public interest this involves.
'Just as importantly, I want to make sure no future grooming gang trial will see a repeat of this outrage, and that all those charged with such serious offences are remanded in custody.'
The MoJ and the Attorney General's office were approached by the Manchester Evening News but declined to comment.