Police seek two men after 13-year-old raped in Bethnal Green

Police are seeking Showkoth Ahmed, 31, and Jahidul Hassan Jaigirdar, 34, in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Bethnal Green. Information provided after a public appeal has advanced the investigation, and detectives are now asking for help tracing the two men.

Appeal prompts new investigative step

The Metropolitan Police opened its investigation at about 11:30pm on August 1, 2024, after the girl reported being raped. She told police that two men she saw on Whitechapel Road led her into Weavers Fields. A passer-by later found and helped her.

Following an appeal on September 18, officers received information that helped advance their enquiries. Police say both men left on the day of that appeal. Investigators have since reviewed CCTV, carried out forensic examinations and spoken with potential witnesses. Officers remain in contact with the girl and her family and have arranged specialist support and safeguarding measures.

The new appeal marks a change in the investigation’s public focus: detectives have named two men they want to trace and speak to, and released images to help identify their whereabouts. That step indicates that information gathered by police and members of the public has helped shape the enquiries. It does not, by itself, establish what the information was or what evidence investigators hold.

That distinction matters. Police are seeking the men in connection with the investigation; the article does not report charges or a court finding. The details made public describe the reported account and the work carried out by detectives, while the investigation remains active.

Police seek information on whereabouts

Ahmed, who has links to Tower Hamlets, is believed to remain in the UK. Jaigirdar, who also has ties to the borough, may have travelled to Bangladesh, according to detectives. These are police assessments shared as part of the appeal, and investigators are asking the public to provide information that could help establish where the men are.

Detective Chief Inspector Anna Deighton said information received after the September appeal brought the investigation to its current stage. She urged anyone who knows where either man is, or has other information that could help, to contact police, and asked the men to come forward. Here's the thing: even a small detail about a possible sighting can give investigators a lead to check, though the police have not described the information already received.

Reward and public appeal

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Alexa Loukas, the charity’s London regional manager, said tips can be given anonymously, without the caller being asked for their name or identity. That route may matter to people who have relevant information but are reluctant to be identified when speaking directly with police.

The reward is conditional on information leading to both an arrest and a conviction, according to the appeal. It is one way investigators are seeking to prompt useful leads, but the central request remains straightforward: report what you know, however limited it may seem. If you're working or living in the area, a remembered encounter or a possible sighting could be relevant for detectives to assess.

What the appeal means for the investigation

This is more significant than it looks: naming people investigators want to trace gives the public a specific role in the next stage of the enquiry. Images and identifying details can help turn a broad request for information into something witnesses can compare with what they remember. And yet, the public appeal is only one part of a process that also relies on CCTV review, forensic work and witness accounts.

For readers, the key point is that police are asking for information about whereabouts and any other detail that could assist, while the men remain sought for questioning in connection with the case. (And this is the part most people overlook.) A report may be useful even if it does not resolve the investigation on its own; detectives can assess it alongside other material. What happens next depends on whether investigators can locate the men and continue their enquiries.

Anyone with information about the men’s whereabouts or the investigation is asked to contact police or Crimestoppers. A small detail. Potentially useful to detectives.