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Harjit Chaggar 'left to die' in Chatham shop basement | Harjit Chaggar 'left to die' in Chatham shop basement |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A grandmother was left to bleed to death after being thrown down a hatch into a basement, a court has heard. | |
The decomposing body of Harjit Chaggar, 69, was found at the Sani Globe store in Chatham, Kent, last September, 12 days after she disappeared. | |
Bobbie Cheema QC, prosecuting, told Canterbury Crown Court Mrs Chaggar was still alive when thrown down the hatch. | Bobbie Cheema QC, prosecuting, told Canterbury Crown Court Mrs Chaggar was still alive when thrown down the hatch. |
Abdul Hannan, 44, and Murshed Miah, 38, from Maidstone, and Mohammed Liakat Islam, 28, of Gillingham, deny murder. | Abdul Hannan, 44, and Murshed Miah, 38, from Maidstone, and Mohammed Liakat Islam, 28, of Gillingham, deny murder. |
They also deny preventing Mrs Chaggar's lawful burial, along with a fourth defendant, Rasad Miah, of Chatham. | They also deny preventing Mrs Chaggar's lawful burial, along with a fourth defendant, Rasad Miah, of Chatham. |
Ms Cheema said Mrs Chaggar, a widow, who lived alone in Chatham, was last seen on 2 September. | |
She was visiting a day centre and collecting a prescription from a surgery. | |
'Still alive' | 'Still alive' |
Her body was found after a smell underneath the floorboards at the grocery store was investigated. | |
Her handbag and jewellery were missing, said Ms Cheema. | |
Ms Cheema said there were no steps from the hatch to the basement below and it would have taken two people to lift the hatch. | |
A post-mortem examination suggested the injuries were consistent with being thrown into the basement while still alive. | |
"There is no evidence that Harjit Chaggar met her death by accident," she told the court. "She was alive - conscious or not - when she was thrown in there. | |
"Her killers showed no mercy and were only forced to reveal where she lay because of a decomposing smell." | |
The prosecution has not suggested any motive for murder. | |
Sani Globe was described as a grocery and butchers, which supplied local restaurants. | |
It was run by Mr Hannan and his brother Murshed Miah, Ms Cheema said. | |
Rasad Miah also worked there and Mr Islam was a butcher there, she said. | |
The jury was shown photographs of the place where Mrs Chaggar's body was discovered and CCTV footage of her in Chatham on the day she was last seen alive. | |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
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