Body of Tangalle victim repatriated to UK

The British Government said yesterday that the body of Khuram Shaikh, the British national who was murdered in a brutal attack on 25 December, has been returned to the United Kingdom in preparation for a family funeral.

Khuram’s brother Nasir Shaikh travelled to Sri Lanka on 3 January to oversee the repatriation of his brother’s body and to seek information directly from the Sri Lankan authorities about the circumstances of the tragic attack.

“On the afternoon of 4 January, accompanied by Acting British High Commissioner Robbie Bulloch, Nasir Shaikh met the Director of the CID to hear about progress in bringing those responsible for his brother’s murder to justice.

The Director of the CID gave his personal assurance to Shaikh that everything was being done to bring about a successful prosecution of those responsible,” the British High Commission in Sri Lanka said yesterday.

Following the meeting, Shaikh commented: “From the assurances I have received today, I am confident that the Sri Lankan authorities have what they need to bring those responsible for the brutal murder of my brother and the vicious attack on Victoria to justice.” 

“This is a very distressing time but I would like to thank all those involved in the investigation of my brother’s murder and those who have helped with his repatriation. For the sake of my brother and the rest of our family, I hope that the investigation can now be brought to a swift conclusion,” Shaikh added.

In the early hours of 25 December, Khuram Zaman Shaikh, a British national on holiday in Sri Lanka, was killed following an attack at a hotel in the southern resort of Tangalle.

Shaikh, 32, died as a result of a deep stab wound. The doctor’s report also lists a single firearm injury to the head and multiple cuts. Shaikh was accompanied by a Russian national, Victoria Alexandrovna, who was seriously injured in a subsequent attack. Khuram Shaikh was a prosthetics rehabilitation manager working in the Gaza Strip for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).