A doctor who was found dead with her daughter in a fire-damaged house “went out of her way” to help patients during the coronavirus lockdown, her colleagues have said.
Dr Saman Mir Sacharvi and Vian Mangrio, 14, were discovered at their home in Reedley in Burnley, Lancashire, by police on Thursday morning.
Two local men, aged 51 and 56, have been arrested on suspicion of murder, two counts of rape and one of arson with intent to endanger life.
A postmortem examination showed Sacharvi died from pressure to her neck and had been assaulted. Tests have shown her daughter, who was a pupil at Marsden Heights school in Nelson, was badly burned but the cause of her death is yet to be determined.
Sacharvi had worked for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS foundation trust’s specialist perinatal community mental health team as a junior doctor since February.
Paying tribute, the perinatal lead consultant, Gill Strachan, said Sacharvi was “empathetic and well-liked by the women and families that she worked with”.
“Her colleagues described her as very kind, brilliant and a joy to work with,” she added. “She was approachable, diligent and had formed good working relationships with the team.”
Strachan said Sacharvi “went out of her way” to support the care of women during lockdown, personally delivering prescriptions to women isolating at home. “The team are shocked and saddened, and she will be greatly missed.”
On Monday, floral tributes continued to be left outside the family home in Colne Road. One reads: “May some good love come out of this horrendous crime. May people learn tolerance. My thought and prayers are with you both. Stupid, stupid. So bad, bad, wrong.”
Lancashire constabulary said the deaths were part of a live investigation and encouraged anyone with information to contact them.
Det Supt John Holmes said: “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.
“Finally our thoughts remain with Dr Sacharvi and Miss Mangrio’s family and friends at this awful time and we send them our deepest condolences.”
