The Detective

Mark Williams-Thomas introduces you to the case involving three men, known as the Three Musketeers, and one other man, all convicted of preparing to commit an act of terror. He begins by giving an overview of the case, and highlights major terrorist attacks that took place around the world, near the time of the trial. Could the mass panic have led to the wrongful prosecution of these four men? Lawyer for the defence, Gareth Pierce, has represented many cases involving terrorism, involving the prosecution of The Guildford Four and The Birmingham Six. She explains how she came to work on the case, and offers her testimony, arguing the facts brought to court by the Police don’t stack up. Hear also from Stephen Kamlish QC, a barrister with more than 40 years experience, as he voices his major concerns with the evidence against the ‘Musketeers’.

We set the scene on the horrific and brutal murder of 17-year-old, Sana Ali who was 11 weeks pregnant. The attack on Friday 10 May 2007 resulted in over 40 separate knife wounds, described as ‘sustained and ferocious’, and occurred at the home of her husband’s parents in Bury on the outskirts of Manchester, England. Sana’s husband, playboy businessman Sair Ali had been having a long-term affair with Harmohinder Sanghera, also known as Mindy.  On that fateful day Mindy drove from her home in Solihull, West Midlands to confront Sana about her husbands illicit affair but to tell also her it was all over.After a trial in November 2007 Mindy, a dentistry student was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 14 years, for the murder of Sana Ali. Mindy has always maintained her innocence and this podcast will take you through a very careful and thorough forensic re-investigation of all the evidence from both the prosecution and the defence. We hear from Mindy as she describes her visit to Sana. You, the listener will be asked to consider if Mindy is a cold-blooded killer or if she is the result of a flawed police investigation, resulting in a tragic miscarriage of justice. In the opening episode we will explore the following: ·      Mindy as a person, and her family's fight for what they believe is a miscarriage of justice·      Background to Mindy’s affair with Sair·      The initial police investigation·      Mindy’s own account of what happened when she visited Sana TEASE – Next week ·      We hear from the police officer that lead the police investigation ·      Hear the initial 999 emergency call·      Mindy’s best friend describes her conversations with Mindy on the day of the murder·      We begin to piece together the timeline of Mindy’s movements 

In this episode we start to break down the police and prosecution case against Mindy and what it was that lead to her being convicted of the furious and brutal murder of 17-year-old Sana Ali, the wife of her lover. On the day of the attack Mindy speaks to her best friend Sheetal, both on her way to confront Sana and also immediately after she leaves the house. In Sheetal’s own words, we hear details of the exact conversations she had with Mindy. We hear more from Mindy as she describes what happened and who she spoke with after visiting Sana. Sana was found by her two sisters in law’s who were so concerned for her safety, that they went around to the house to check on her only to find her on the floor, covered in blood with a knife alongside her.  Their initial reaction and observations are that Sana had killed herself.  We hear the details of the initial 999 emergency call and start to understand more as to why Sana’s family were concerned about her welfare.We hear from the police officer who was in charge of the investigation, retired Detective Chief Superintendent Jane Antrobus.  DCS Antrobus gives an insight into her investigation, why the case was initially treated as a suicide, and how after medical evidence from Dr Lumb, a Home Officer forensic pathologist, Sana’s death was instead considered as a homicide.DCS Antrobus gives us an understanding of the dynamics of this three-way love triangle and how Mindy entered into a Mut'ah with Sair, a temporary marriage which under the eyes of Allah allowed him to conduct his relationship with Mindy. The crime scene is described by the attending paramedics which feeds in to forensic expert Dr Woods evidence around blood pattern analysis and specifically where he believed Sana was during the furious attack. We hear why the paramedics considered that Sana was alive and took her to hospital in an attempt to save her life. In this episode we introduce David Wells, as he presents evidence from the police and prosecution, a role which he will adopt for future episodes. We also consider how Sana would have been capable of moving around the bedroom after she had received her wounds.TEASE – Next week  ·      We hear more from Mindy’s family about what they knew about Mindy’s affair and the initial police investigation. ·      The police officer leading the murder investigation explains how they never established ownership of the knife.·      The officer also explains how she believes Mindy was able to carry out this brutal attack without getting a drop of blood on her clothes or body.