There was an unexpected twist for police searching in river Thames for the suspect in the recent London chemical attack case: Two bodies unrelated to the case.
The police on Saturday (Feb 10) recovered the two male bodies when searching for Abdul Shookor Ezedi- the suspect behind the chemical attack in Clapham. According to a report by The Guardian on Sunday, the deaths of these two men were being treated by police as “unexpected pending further inquiries.”
Neither of the bodies were identified as that of Ezedi, the report added.
It is also understood that the bodies were found not as a direct result of the search operation for the chemical attack suspect.
The London chemical attack: What happened?
On the night of Jan 31, Ezedi, 35, attacked a woman and her two children with a corrosive substance at a supermarket in Clapham. Three other women and one man who came to their aid suffered minor burns and five police officers who responded were also injured.
Ezedi himself was severely injured in the attack, with images showing a big gash on his eye.
He was last seen walking to Chelsea Bridge in west London and was captured on CCTV leaning over the railings of the bridge on the night of the attack.
Authorities said that the chemical used in the attack was alkaline.
The 35-year-old reportedly arrived in the UK illegally in 2016 on the back of a lorry after fleeing from Afghanistan.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and indecent exposure charges, but was not imprisoned.
Ezedi received a nine-week jail term for the sexual assault and 36 weeks for the exposure to be served consecutively, both suspended for two years.
He was later granted the right to stay in the UK on his third asylum application in either 2020 or 2021. The grant came after a priest vouched that Ezedi converted to Christianity.
A manhunt was launched for the man after the chemical attack.
The arrival of asylum seekers is the focus of a heated political debate in the country on how to control illegal migration. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made tackling the issue a key pledge ahead of an election expected later this year.
In the wake of the attack, Tory lawmakers called for the Sunak government to reform its policy on asylum seekers in the UK. Speaking to The Telegraph, Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said that Ezedi should have never been granted asylum.
“We need to get to the bottom of how he was able to be granted leave to remain,” Cates added.
(With inputs from agencies)
