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Officer testifies

From page 1

assaulting the social werker.
North Vancouver provin-
cial court Judge Carol Baird
Elian adjourned the tral to
the end of August. The trial
moved from North
Vancouver to the Vancouver
provincial court house on
Main Street. The defence will
Present its case at that time.
Rashida Khan is no
stranger to courts. In 1996,
she was found guilty of the
second-degree murder of her
daughter-in-law Naazish, 23.
Rashida’s murder convic-
tion was overturned by the
B.C. Court of Appeal.
“Rashida’s husband Abdur is
serving a life sentence with
parole eligibility after 10 years
in jail, Abdur’s 1995 murder
conviction was upheld on

>, appeal.

Naazish was new to
© Canada from India and newly
married to Rashida’s eldest
son . Faisal. Naazish was the
_mother of a two-month-old
baby’ girl when she “was mur-
dered in December 1993.

Naazish was killed in the Khan
family’s British Properties
homie.

In February, social workers
and North Vancouver
Mounties went to Rashida’s
townhouse at 257 East Keith
Road to apprehend Naazish’s
child who is now age six. The
child and Faisal, now age 28,
were living with Rashida.

Ranger, a social worker for
five years, worked in the
intake investigations team on
the North Shore for the
Ministry for Children and
Families.

Two days before the appre-
hension attempt, Ranger testi-
fied she and a supervisor met
with Faisal concerning his
daughter. He did not show u
for a subsequent meeting wit
the ministry workers.

The social workers decided
to “remove” the child from
Rashida’s home as there was
“a level of risk for the child in
the home,”testified Ranger.

Ranger testified she had
interviewed the child the day
before the apprehension

attempt and there were “a

number of concerns.”

Ranger said police are
often called to be present
when social workers remove a
child from a home.

tsorth Vanceuver RCMP
Const. James Jesmer said he
found Rashida walking her
dog on the boulevard near her
hone.

He testified he approached
Rashida, said hello and toid
her that he was “looking for
bad guys.” He said there had
been burglaries in the area and
he was looking for a suspect.

Rashida, according — to
Jesmer, sad she left her door
unlocked.

Jesmer testified that he
asked to see her residence to
check it out for burglars.

Jesmer said he looked for
the child, bur nobody was in
the townhouse. When he left,
Ranger and another social
worker, Fiona Walker, were at
Rashida’s door. A second of f-
cer, Const. Chris Lonnee, was
nearby.

Ranger testified = that
Rashida was cordial and invit-
ed the social workers into her
homme.

Ranger testified = that
Rashida said thar Faisal and
the litde girl had to leave

Rashida’s home, bur that
Faisal had left a note regard-
ing his “plan.”

After Ranger read Faisal’s
note, she pur it in her dav-
timer,

“She (Rashida) became
very angry and asked for the
note back,” testified Ranger.

Ranger offered to give
Rashida a copy or make a copy
of the original and return t the
original. Rashids wanted to
make the copy for the social
worker.

“She (Rashida) had a hofd

of my left arm and a hold of

my daytimer with the other
arm... 1 couldn’t move at all...
She was digging into the
biceps of my arm with her
nails,” testified Ranger. “She
was very angry. She was
yelling in my face.”

Ranger testified = that

Sunday, June 25, 2000 —

Rashida then used both arms
to erab Ranger's teft arm.

“She owas yelling and
upset... She wanted the note.”
said Ranger who added there
was confidential information
in her daytimer.

Ranger asked the other
social. worker to get the
police. Jesmer testified thar
Rashida would not let go of
Ranger. He took Rashida's
arms and arrested her.

Jesmer testified he read
Faisal’s note which was
addressed"to whom it may
concern” and mentioned
Salim Jiwa and the Ministry
for Children and Familics.

Jiwa is a Province reporter
who covered the Naazish’s
murder investigation. Jiwa
was at one point a friend of
Faisal and tock care of Faisal’s
daughter. Faisal’s entire note

[atreNtion

JEEP OWNERS

North Shore News - 13

was not read out in court, Part
of the noted stated, “I Faisal
Rashid Khan am informing
you all.”

Judge Baird Elan inter-
rupted the first witness cross
examination and asked if there
should be a publication ban
ordered concerning — the
child’s aame. Khan’s lawyer
Daniel Markovirz did not sav
anything. Crown iawyer Rod
Flannigan looked in his

Criminal Code book and said
no ban appeared to apply to
this case. Baird Eilan did aot
issue any ban, Meanwhile
Faisal is currently before
North Vancouver provincial
court charged with nmvo
offences: possessing pepper
spray, a prohibited weapon,
on Dec. 27, 1998 in Calgary;
failing to go to court in
Calgary on Jan. 6, 1999. .

ved 4

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