9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

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TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed

for life for crash murders
4 minutes ago

LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE

Mahek Bukhari (left) and her mother Ansreen wanted to silence Saqib Hussain, who had threatened to
reveal an affair he was having with the older woman, the trial heard

By Dan Martin
BBC News

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9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

A social media influencer and her mother have been jailed for the "cold-
blooded" murder of two men who died when their car was rammed off the
road.

Mahek and Ansreen Bukhari recruited others to help them target Saqib
Hussain and Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21.

The fatal car chase in Leicestershire came after Mr Hussain threatened to

reveal an affair he had been having with Ansreen, 46.

The court heard it was a plot of "love, obsession and extortion".

Mahek Bukhari - a 24-year-old social media influencer who the judge branded
"entirely self-obsessed" - was jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 31
years and eight months.

Ansreen Bukhari, whose head had been turned by the "perceived glamour" of
her daughter's career, was jailed for life and given a minimum term of 26 years
and nine months.

Watch: What CCTV evidence showed us in the TikTok murder case

Leicester Crown Court heard the Bukharis "lured" Mr Hussain to a meeting in a

Tesco car park, saying he would be given back £3,000 he claimed to have spent
on his lover during their relationship.

They planned to take his mobile phone from him, believing it contained
explicit images of Ansreen, which he had threatened to reveal.

However Mr Hussain, and his friend Mr Ijazuddin, who accompanied him, were
then ambushed by a masked gang, recruited by the Bukharis, and chased in

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9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

their Skoda Fabia along the A46 at speeds of up to 90mph by two cars - a Seat
Leon and Audi TT - before crashing into a tree in a ball of flames.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC said: "The prosecution categorised this as a story

of love, obsession and extortion and they are right.

"They were also right in categorising this case as one of cold-blooded murder."

SUPPLIED

Hashim Ijazuddin (left) and Saqib Hussain, both from Banbury, died at the scene

The judge said TikTok and Instagram, where Mahek Bukhari had amassed tens
of thousands of followers posting beauty and fashion advice, were at the heart
of the case.

He told Mahek: "Your tawdry fame through your career as an influencer has
made you entirely self-obsessed."

He said her "warped values" had led to her having "no apparent awareness" of
the impact her actions had on others.

TikTok murder families speak of 'devastation'

Murder-accused TikToker 'told a pack of lies'

TikToker and mum 'killed men in plot to hide affair'

The judge said Ansreen's head had been turned by the "perceived glamour" of
her daughter's career, with her often appearing in posts online and attending
promotions and shisha bar openings.

He said it was a world removed from her life as a mother and housewife in
Stoke-on-Trent.
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9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

He told her: "You are the grown-up in this group and you should have behaved
as the grown-up but you allowed your understandable concern about
exposure to strip you of any rational judgement."

He said she had made a "calamitous decision" to ask for Mahek's help with Mr
Hussain.

LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE

Clockwise from top left: Rekan Karwan and Raees Jamal, who were found guilty of murder; Ameer Jamal,
Sanaf Gulamustafa and Natasha Akhtar, who were convicted of manslaughter

Earlier on Friday, the court heard statements from the families of the victims,
in which the parents of Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin said their lives had been
changed forever by their deaths.

Mr Ijazuddin's father, Sikandar Hayat, said his son, who accompanied his friend
Mr Hussain to the rendezvous that ultimately led to their deaths, had been
"innocent".

He said he could not understand why the defendants had not called the
emergency services to get help after the crash.

"They left him and his friend to burn in a furnace of hell," he said.

In a statement read on their behalf, Mr Hussain's family said his parents had
been left as "two lifeless corpses", unable to eat or drink in the run-up to their
son's funeral.

During the trial, a 999 call made by Mr Hussain in the moments before the
fatal crash was played.

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Mr Hussain told police call handlers: "There's guys following me, they have
balaclavas on… they're trying to ram me off the road."

A scream was heard on the line before the call abruptly ended.

The judge said: "It was one of the most moving and distressing pieces of
evidence ever heard in a criminal court."

Also sentenced for murder were fellow defendants Rekan Karwan, 29, and
Raees Jamal, 23, who were recruited by the Bukharis and driving the pursuing
cars.

The court heard Jamal is serving a sentence for rape.

In the courtroom
By George Torr, BBC News

The heartbreaking saga for the Hussain and Ijazzudin families is finally coming
to an end.

It's difficult to put into words just how painful it has been for them since their
sons' deaths back in February 2022.

Mr Hussain's father Sajad and Mr Ijazzudin's father Sikander have spent every
minute inside this courtroom in Leicester, making the journey every day from
their Oxfordshire home to the East Midlands.

Mahek Bukhari, the ringleader, is now a shell of her former self the press have
observed.

She shared smiles and laughs with other defendants during quieter parts of
the trial, and casually played board games in the precinct when the jury
retired.

She even waved and laughed at reporters outside with cameras from a balcony
in the court foyer just hours before she broke down in tears when she was
convicted of double murder.

The defendants
Mahek Bukhari, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for life
with a minimum least 31 years and eight months in prison

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Ansreen Bukhari, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for

life with a minimum term of 26 years and nine months

Rekan Karwan, of Tomlin Road, Leicester, was jailed for life with a minimum
of 26 years and 10 months

Raees Jamal, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough, was jailed for life with a
minimum term of 36 years and 45 days

Natasha Akhtar, 23, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to 11

years and eight months for manslaughter

Ameer Jamal, 28, of Catherine Street, Leicester, was jailed for 14 years and
eight months for manslaughter

Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, of Littlemore Close, Leicester, was sentenced to 14

years and nine months in prison for manslaughter

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story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

Related Topics

Loughborough Banbury Birmingham Leicester

More on this story

TikTok influencer and mother sentenced to life in prison for murders

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9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

TikTok murder families speak of 'devastation'

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What CCTV evidence showed us in TikTok murder case

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9/1/23, 8:05 PM TikToker Mahek Bukhari and mum jailed for life for crash murders - BBC News

Murder-accused TikToker 'told a pack of lies'

25 April

TikToker and mum 'killed men in plot to hide affair'

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