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“People are genuinely surprised. That is an understatement,” said Zaffer Khan, a local son and founder of the group One Voice Blackburn, which promotes interfaith ties.

The sons of Choudhary Aslam Wassan, a popular and charismatic former food business pioneer and political campaigner, Miah Zaffer, the first to die out of the friends on 23 March, and Jawad Iqbal, a businessman and political activist – the youngest of the friends to die – also spoke of their grief.

Zaffer, a former mill worker, had been retired for a number of years and was described as being “incredibly popular”.

Constable Zaffer, who also speaks fluent Cantonese, said he was simply following his training.

Constable Zaffer's handling of the delicate situation won him praise from superiors - and a social media fanclub.