A social media influencer and her mother have been jailed for life for organising an attack which led to two men crashing and dying after a high-speed car chase.
Mahek Bukhari, 24, and her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, were convicted along with two others of the murder of Ansreen’s former lover Saqib Hussain, 21, and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, also 21, who died when their car left the A46 near Leicester in the early hours of Feb. 11, 2022.
Co-defendants Rekhan Karwan, 29, and Raees Jamal, 23, were also given life sentences for murder, while Natasha Akhtar, 23, Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, were convicted of two counts of manslaughter and jailed for 11 years, 14 years, and 14 years respectively.
Bukhari had ironically boasted of having an “elite relationship” with her mother in one of her TikTok videos.
‘Story of Love, Obsession, and Extortion’
The judge said it was a “story of love, obsession, and extortion.”Mahek Bukhari was told she would have to spend a minimum of 31 years and 8 months in prison and her mother was given a minimum tariff of 26 years and 9 months.
Jamal, who drove one of the pursuing cars, was locked up for a minimum of 36 years and Karwan, who drove the other car, was given a tariff of 26 years and 10 months.
Leicester Crown Court heard Ansreen Bukhari, who was married, had an affair with Mr. Hussain but after it ended he threatened to expose her using sexually explicit images and videos.
The trial heard he demanded she paid him back the £3,000 he had spent on her during their affair.
Furious and fearing Mr. Hussain would seek to blackmail her mother, Mahek Bukhari recruited a group of friends to confront him after setting up a face-to-face meeting near Leicester.
The court heard Mr. Hussain and his friend travelled up from their homes in Banbury, Oxfordshire, for the meeting in a Tesco supermarket car park but became suspicious and drove off before they could be ambushed.
‘They’re Trying to Kill me’
Mr. Hussain, who was in the passenger seat, called 999 and told the operator: “They’re trying to kill me, they’re trying to kill me. I’m just getting rammed off the road ... Please, I am begging you.”The jury was played the recording which ended with Mr. Hussain shouting “Oh my God,” before a scream and then the sound of an impact.
His Skoda car “split in two” and burst into flames after hitting a tree and Mr. Hussain and his friend were both killed.
Forensic investigators established one of the chasing cars had been driving at 100 miles per hour as it pursued the two victims, and the Skoda was doing in excess of 80 mph when it crashed.
Judge Spencer said people drove to the supermarket car park but the ambush plan was “rumbled.”
He told the defendants: “You could have disengaged. You could have given this venture up, but no. So began the pursuit coordinated by the open phone line between both cars.”
Earlier the court heard victim impact statements from the families of the two men.
Mr. Ijazuddin’s father, Sikander Hayat, said: “Hashim was innocent. Totally innocent. One hundred percent innocent ... Why did this happen to him? He did not know his murderers or what awaited him in that Tesco car park.”
Mahek Bukhari had 129,000 followers on TikTok, where she would offer advice on fashion and make-up, mime to pop songs, and give advice on social situations.
Just a few months before the murder she posted a video in which she danced with her mother. Subtitles over the video said, “Having an elite relationship with your mum.”
