Bolton and Accrington men in court over Bury rapes probe

Qamar Jehangeer, 44, from Bolton, and Zaheer Iqbal, 52, from Accrington, both appeared before Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court last week.

Jehangeer, of Jolly Mews, Harwood, was charged with four counts of rape of a girl under 16 and two counts of false imprisonment.

All the alleged crimes are said to have taken place in the Bury area over several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Iqbal, of Hawksworth Road, Accrington, was charged with four counts of rape of a girl under 16, also in Bury and also between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A third man, 46-year-old Ashfaq Khan of Bury, was charged with 36 counts of rape of a girl under 16 as part of the same investigation but has yet to appear before the court.

He is also accused of the attempted rape of a girl under 16 and of indecent assault and false imprisonment.

Earlier in July, Greater Manchester Police said the men, all from British Pakistani backgrounds, were charged as part of a probe into non-recent child sex abuse in Bury.

A spokesperson said: “The charges follow Operation Sky, a complex and sensitive investigation regarding alleged offences in Bury between 1996 and 2003.

“Officers are working with trauma-informed support services to safeguard and support all those that have been affected.

“They continue to work at length to ensure their safety and wellbeing is the number one priority.”

Police have said that the crimes are alleged to have taken place between 1996 and 2003, with the charges relating to incidents involving 10 girls aged between 12 and 16 at the time.

According to court documents, neither Jehangeer nor Iqbal entered any pleas when they appeared before Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, July 22.

Iqbal was granted conditional bail while Jehangeer was remanded into custody ahead of a further appearance at Manchester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

They are expected to next appear before the court next month.