A SECOND mass killer is making a bid for freedom.

Shakiel Amir Shazad – convicted of killing eight people in a firebomb attack on a Huddersfield home – is applying for parole.

He is following the lead of his co-accused, Nazar Hussain, who has already been freed from jail despite killing eight people in the horrific attack in Birkby just a decade ago.

The move has caused anger and disappointment for relatives of the victims and for people in the community.

They have made representations to the Parole Board but fear Shazad, of Gledholt Road, Huddersfield, will be freed within weeks.

Mohammed Shafiq, who escaped the inferno which swept through his home, said: “This is all so wrong. We cannot believe this.

“This man, like Nazar Hussain, could be out and living a normal life within weeks less than a decade after going to prison for taking eight lives.

“He is still a relatively young man. Surely a crime as bad as this should mean he spends many more years in jail?

“We can never get over what happened to our loved ones yet the Parole Board could release the killer very soon.

“We are making our feelings known, but we have been told we cannot see the reports about this man that go to the Parole Board, because of data protection.

“In our view, all the men involved in that attack were equally as guilty. They all knew what their actions could mean”.

Hussain, of Dryclough Road, Crosland Moor, was convicted of eight counts of manslaughter in 2003 and jailed for 18 years but he was freed last October, despite protests by the family, Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan and Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman.

Now Shazad is making a similar appeal to the Parole Board.

Both men were convicted of manslaughter while a third man, Shaied Iqbal, of Springdale Road, Thornton Lodge, was convicted of eight counts of murder.

Iqbal was the instigator of the attack and was jailed for life after he was convicted of eight murder counts and pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit arson.

A fourth suspect, Shahid Mohammed, fled during the early stages of the inquiry and is still a fugitive.

The gang petrol-bombed the Chishti family’s home at Osborne Road while the occupants slept in the early hours of May 12, 2002.

Petrol was poured through the living room window, triggering a blaze which cost the lives of a mother, two of her children and her five grand-daughters.

Those killed in the fire included Nafeesa Aziz, 35, who perished with her five young daughters: Tayyaba Batool, 13; Rabiah Batool, 10; Ateeqa Nawaz, six; Aneesa Nawaz, two, and Najeeba Nawaz, six months.

Nafeesa’s brother, Mohammed Ateeq-ur-Rehman, 18, also died in the flames. Their mother, Zaib-u-Nisa, 54, died later in hospital after leaping from a window. Three other occupants were able to escape the conflagration.

Clr Khan, who has helped the family since the fire, said: “It seems the system is balanced in favour of the criminal, rather than the victim.

“This crime is still all too real and shattering for the family.

“The community in Huddersfield was deeply affected by this heinous crime and public confidence in the criminal justice system would be shattered if Shazad were to serve a lesser term.

“All the family want to see is justice for their loved ones”.