HOMICIDE detectives have launched an investigation after finding a 16-year-old boy battered to death near a Gallions Reach DLR station in East London.
The body of Shanur Ahmed, who reportedly died of head injuries, was discovered in a scrubland on Tuesday (3).
The boy had been reported missing by his family who stay at Manor Park, about four miles from the station.
The A-level student at Newham Sixth Form College had reportedly gone to see a hospitalised friend who had been assaulted by a gang on campus.
Shanur's family had been “aware of an altercation at his college”, and believed he was “inadvertently caught in a dispute between two gangs”.
His frantic parents had reportedly informed the police about a message circulating on social media that hinted the boy was in danger.
Police officers had scanned the area after witnesses said they saw a group of “30 youths carrying baseball bats”, near the station the previous night.
Reports said two rival gangs had met near the station on Monday (2) evening to “settle a dispute”.
Scotland Yard detectives were probing if Shanur was murdered by one of the gangs in a “revenge attack”.
Shocked at discovering Shanur's body, commuter Lucy Farrell, 25, said she saw a DLR cleaner trying to revive Shanur, but “he wasn’t responding”.
She said the “young man was lying flat, face down in the grass with his hands by his sides”.
“There was a muddy trail as if he had been dragged there,” she added, noting that he “still had his black rucksack on”.
Shanur’s uncle Asad Ahmed told media that the family found the boy’s tissues and glasses “with blood spatters on the ground” at the crime scene.
The sight was “distressing and disturbing”, he said.
“Having to come here and see what we are seeing is disgraceful,” added Ahmed as Shanur’s father wept under an umbrella.
Describing Shanur as “every parent's dream child”, Ahmed slammed police negligence in handling the case.
“When we found out that he is in danger, he may have been stabbed or is in need of help, the protocol from the police, we understand, is they should have deployed a search party, along with a helicopter.
“Having come today to the scene where he was lying down, I think a police helicopter would have picked it up straight away.
“Today, rather than mourning a death of a child, we probably could have saved a life.”
Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith said Shanur’s “family and friends are devastated”.
“They want answers and they deserve all the help the public can give them. We need anyone with information to tell us what they know,” he added.
Damian Talbot