Tight-lipped cops seek more tips on principal's killers

The Province

As several thousand mourners paid their final respects to slain school principal Shemina Hirji yesterday, police searched her Burnaby townhouse for information that could help track down her killers.

The haunting melody of Salwaat, a Muslim prayer, filled the Burnaby Lake Ismaili Jamatkhana while students, co-workers, family and friends filed into tents set up adjoining the mosque.

Tears flowed and mourners fingered prayer beads as they walked past Hirji's body shrouded in beaded white cloth with a bouquet of flowers laid on her midsection.

Following the viewing, Hirji's body was placed in a casket and the Fateha and Namaz-e-Mayat, prayers for the dead, were recited.

A long procession of men, including Hirji's husband of less than one week, Paul Cheema, carried Hirji's casket to a waiting hearse.

As the principal of Surrey's AHP Matthew Elementary was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery, women remained at the jamatkhana to comfort each other.

"As you can imagine, with a tragedy such as this, there's a lot of shock and a lot of people that are grieving today," said Zahir Khoji, a volunteer in the tight-knit Ismaili community.

"I can't imagine what her family must be going through right now."

Khoji said Hirji was a well-known member of the community.

"Shemina was very well-respected in the Ismaili community and the community at large," he said. "She will be missed by all."

Hirji, 40, died during an apparent home invasion at her Mulberry Place townhouse in Burnaby last Thursday.

Cheema told police that three men broke into their home and attacked them, leaving Hirji for dead and injuring him.

Cheema was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released the same day.

Police say Cheema was able to describe two of the three attackers.

The first is described as a tall Caucasian man wearing a brown suit, the other as a dark-skinned man wearing a ski mask.

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr said investigators executed a secondary search warrant on Hirji's townhouse at about 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

"We're just looking for some additional information that may help advance our files," Carr said. "We're not in a position where we can discuss what we're looking for. Those details would never be discussed."

Carr said tips are coming in on a daily basis and police are following up on them. "The investigators are actually quite pleased with the progress of the file so far," he said.

Carr said investigators are focused on the suspects Cheema described to police. "There are currently no other suspects," he said.

Anyone who thinks they may have information about the incident or the suspects is asked to call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-543-9217 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.