Daughter tells of finding body of radio agony aunt

Published on Saturday 12 December 2009 19:14

THE daughter of a community radio presenter has revealed how she found her mother's body in a pool of blood in the flat they shared together.

• Mrs Nasim Jamil, radio presenter on Awaz FM who was found murdered in her flat on Byres Road, Glasgow. Picture: Complimentary

Nazia Jamil, 35, discovered Nasim, 54, lying on the kitchen floor, before calling a friend for help, telling him: "My mum's dead, my mum's dead."

The mother of two, who worked as an agony aunt for Awaz FM, a community radio station for Glasgow's Asian community, was found dead shortly before 8pm on Wednesday.

Javed Sattar, project manager for Awaz FM and the presenter of its weekend show, said he received a call from Nazia after she had found her mother's body in their flat in Byres Road, in the west end of Glasgow.

He said: "She basically just phoned me and said, 'Javed, my mum's dead, my mum's dead, and I need you'. Someone was saying, 'Let her go, let her go'. Obviously she must have been holding the body.

"The front two doors were kind of open and she thought that's quite strange, went in the living room, and some of the pillows were a bit untidy. "She thought, 'Why's the kitchen door shut?' Because the kitchen door's never really shut. She's opened the kitchen door and seen her mother just lying there in a pool of blood."

Sattar had previously said Jamil was a woman who "cherished" the younger volunteers at Awaz FM, and was a kind and caring individual.

Strathclyde Police have described her death as a "brutal murder" and are continuing their investigations into the incident.

Any motive for her death remains unclear, with Jamil widely described as a well-liked figure. Javaid Ullah, community relations manager for Awaz FM, said he thought she may have died after a housebreaking went wrong.

Further tributes were paid yesterday to Jamil, originally from Pakistan, but who has been an active member of the Asian community of Scotland's largest city for many years.

The widow sustained severe head injuries in the attack which claimed her life, and police believe her killer may have left her flat with bloodstained clothes.

Sattar said yesterday that he had not had the opportunity to speak to Jamil's daughter since receiving the telephone call, and that the family had appealed for privacy.

According to reports, Nazia was recently married, and was expecting her husband to arrive from Pakistan on receipt of a visa.

It is believed that along with her radio work she is employed as a nursery nurse assistant.

Her death is the second tragedy to befall the radio station following the murder last year of Shiers Waqar Sheikh, a former programme assistant, who was stabbed to death in London.

Her killer, Rafi Ullah, was detained in a mental hospital in March this year for an indefinite period after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said yesterday that despite Ullah's conviction, the murder of the 23-year-old – who was stabbed 65 times – would form part of the inquiry into Jamil's death.

"It's certainly something that will be looked at as part of the inquiry, but there are no links being drawn between the two incidents," she explained.

The force was continuing to carry out door-to-door inquiries in the area yesterday as well as studying CCTV footage.

Renewing the appeal for witnesses, the spokeswoman said: "We are still asking members of the public to come forward. Byres Road is a very busy area." It is believed Jamil, who had worked at the radio station since 2004, attended a doctor's appointment near her home at around 1.30pm on the day of her death.