LEICESTER: Pakistan-origin British TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari and her mother have both been jailed for life for the double murder of two young men.
Bukhari sobbed in the dock last month as she was found guilty of murdering the young men in a high-speed car chase. Her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, was also found guilty of the murders following a trial at Leicester Crown Court.
Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, died when their vehicle “virtually split in two” and caught fire after leaving the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester before hitting a tree in the early hours of 11 February 2022.
Saqib had threatened to reveal the affair he had with Ansreen Bukhari to her family. Bukhari, 24, and her mother, from Stoke-on-Trent, denied two counts of murder but were convicted by jurors after more than 28 hours of deliberations.
On Friday, Mahek Bukhari was sentenced to life with a minimum of 31 years and eight months in prison, while Ansreen Bukhari also received a life sentence, and was jailed for a minimum of 26 years and nine months.
Rekan Karwan, 29, who brought in Raees Jamal, 23, to help carry out the murders after Bukhari approached him, were also jailed for life with a minimum of 26 years and 10 months and 31 years respectively for two counts of murder.
Three others, who were found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, were also sentenced. All were present in the two vehicles used in the fatal car chase.
Natasha Akhtar, 23, was jailed for 11 years and eight months, while Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, were jailed for 14 years and eight months and 14 years and nine months respectively for two counts of manslaughter.
During sentencing, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said TikTok and Instagram were “at the heart” of the case, as Bukhari dropped out of university to pursue her career as an influencer. He argued if she had not done so, she would be looking forward to the rest of her life.
The judge added Ansreen had made the “calamitous” decision of putting the response to the sex tape threat against her in her daughter’s hands.
Saqib Hussain and Ijazuddin were “lured” into meeting with the Bukharis in a car park on the pretence of paying him £3,000 and ended up in a chase.
Just before he died, Saqib Hussain made a call to police saying their car was being “blocked in” and rammed by attackers wearing balaclavas who had been following them in two cars.
In a recording of the call played to Leicester Crown Court during the trial, he said: “They’re trying to ram us off the road. Please, I’m begging you, I’m going to die.”
He also said “Oh my God”, before there was a scream and the call cut off at the sound of an impact. The court heard they were deliberately rammed off the road in an “ambush”.
Leicestershire Police’s senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Mark Parish, said: “This was a callous and cold-blooded attack which ultimately cost two men their lives”.
“After setting Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin up, chasing them at high speed and then ultimately ramming their car off the road, none of the defendants made any attempt to help the victims or to call for help.”
“Instead they drove on and then even drove back past the collision site. Still no one attempted to offer any help. As the defendants found guilty were arrested, charged and stood trial before a court, lies were continually told in order to try and cover their tracks”.
“Their only concern during the whole incident and investigation has been for themselves,” the officer said.
