Two men have been arrested on suspicion of raping and murdering a doctor and her teenage daughter in their home.
The men, aged 51 and 56 from Burnley, were also detained on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after police found the girl’s badly-burned body in their fire and smoke-damaged house on Colne Road, Burnley, on Thursday morning.
Postmortem examinations showed Dr Saman Mir Sacharvi, 49, died from pressure to her neck and that she was assaulted before she died.
Officials have not yet determined a cause of death for her daughter, Vian Mangrio, 14,who was a pupil at Marsden Heights school in Nelson.
Former colleagues at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, where Dr Sacharvi worked, paid tribute to the victims on social media.
Jacqueline Eastwood, wrote on Facebook: ‘RIP Saman you were a lovely person and we had lots of laughs when we worked together.’
Helen Monk added: ‘Beautiful woman and an amazing Doctor. She was loved and well thought of on Edisford Ward. She will be sadly missed and fondly remembered.’
The trust wrote on Twitter: ‘Our thoughts are with Dr Sacharvi’s family and friends at this time. She was a well loved and well liked colleague here at the Trust, described as “brilliant” and a “joy to work with”.
‘Please follow @BurnleyPolice @LancsPolice for updates and if you have any info let them know.’
Lancashire Police said they have a team of detectives pursuing several lines of inquiry but are continuing to seek information from the public about the tragedy.
DS John Holmes said: ‘This is a live investigation and we continue to ask anyone with any information to get in touch with us.
‘Perhaps you have been in the Colne Road area recently and have seen something suspicious.
‘Maybe you have CCTV or dashcam footage which could contain something useful. Or perhaps you think you know who is responsible.
‘Whatever information you have, we would urge you to get in touch, even if you think what you know is insignificant.
Anyone with information can contact police quoting log 0298 of October 1, or independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/05/two-arrested-over-rape-and-murder-of-doctor-and-daughter-14-in-burning-home-13371855/