Mystery surrounds the deaths of a secretly-married

Mystery surrounds the deaths of a secretly-married couple who plunged to their deaths during an argument on the 11th floor of a tower block.

Atif Karim, 24, and Shamaila Rahman, 23, died instantly when they hit a parked car with their legs entwined, an inquest heard.

Mr Karim, an IT consultant was apparently distraught after discovering Shamaila was sleeping with another man – student Aneeb Chaudhury.

Before their deaths Shamaila told a friend, Ms Simeen Hussein that Atif ‘had gone crazy’.

She added: ‘He wants to jump from the top floor.

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It was only after the couple died that their secret marriage – which could have been a sham for immigration purposes – came to light.

Mr Chaudhry told the court that he and Shamaila had become ‘particularly friendly’ and were sleeping together.

On the night before the deaths Chaudhry said Atif, of Hanover Gate Mansions, Marylebone ‘was annoyed for various reasons.

‘Primarily he wanted to patch things up with Shamaila, and she wasn’t willing to do so.

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Arriving late at night, Atif was one of a number of people at the flat at Southacre in Hyde Park Crescent
where the deaths occurred.

Chaudhry even poured Atif a vodka and orange at around 3.

15am.

Half an hour later, Atif said he had to leave, and that he could not stand being there.

But at 7am, Chaudhry said he heard Atif ring Shamaila’s mobile ‘six or seven times’

‘He was hurt and felt betrayed by Shamaila,’ Chaudhry said.

‘I could hear him shouting down the phone that he felt betrayed and didn’t like what was going on,’ Chaudhry said.

Then he fell into asleep and did not know
Shamaila had left her bedroom on the fifth floor of the flat.

Former Evening Standard and Daily Telegraph journalist Antonia Feuchtwanger, of (20) Oxford Square said she saw the couple plummeting from the roof.

‘I was reading the Sunday papers when I suddenly heard a man’s voice.

This man shouted out twice in rapid succession.

‘I could not make out what he was saying, only that he was sounding angry.

‘I immediately stood up towards the window and looked towards Southacre.

‘As I reached the window I heard a woman scream.

The scream wasn’t particularly loud.

It sounded to me this woman was more surprised than terrified.

‘A fraction of a second later I saw two people fall through the air,’ Ms Feuchtwanger said.

Pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said the couple died of multiple injuries.

Atif had fingernail scratches on his neck, and bruising on his arm suggesting it had been held tightly.

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman told the hearing:’I have to say they were both young people, and although it may come as a shock it does appear they were married.

‘The fact is Atif Karim looked upon Shamaila as his girlfriend, but he would have been aware her affections had transferred, to put it like that, to Mr Aneeb.

‘Mr Karim had been drinking, and it does appear he was disappointed that his affections for Shamaila were not reciprocated.

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Dr Knapman said he could not be sure whether they committed suicide, or that it was an accident, or that one of them was unlawfully killed.

‘The evidence is far from clear, and is likely to be a combination of factors.

‘Logic dictates the more likely scenario is both of them were excitable, Atif says he’s going to do something dramatic, and she is possibly trying to stop him, and both of them fall off the flat.

‘But even that is supposition.

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Verdict: Open
ends