A mother and her TikTok influencer daughter have been convicted of the murder of two men in a car crash following a three-month retrial at Leicester Crown Court in United Kingdom(UK).
Ansreen Bukhari, 46, and her daughter Mahek Bukhari, 24, from Stoke-on-Trent, UK, were found guilty after 28 hours of jury deliberation.
The victims, Saqib Hussain and Hashim Ijazuddin, both aged 21, were reportedly killed in February 2022 when their car crashed and split in two near Leicester.
According to reports, Mr Hussain, who Bukhari claimed to have threatened to use sexually explicit material to expose their long-running affair, made a panicked 999 call the moments before the crash.
Alongside the Bukharis, fellow defendants Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal were also found guilty of murder. However, Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal, and Sanaf Gulamustafa were convicted of manslaughter. One co-accused, Mohammed Patel, was found not guilty of both charges.
Mahek Bukhari – who has nearly 129,000 followers on TikTok where she posted about fashion and beauty – “set a trap” for Mr Hussain on the night he died, the three-month retrial heard.
Prosecutors said Mr Hussain, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, had been “lured” into meeting with the Bukharis on the pretence he would be given back £3,000 he said he had spent on taking his lover out during their relationship.
Instead, Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin, who had driven his friend to the meeting in a Tesco car park in Hamilton in Leicester as a “favour”, were ambushed and then chased by two cars.
The court was told Mr Ijazuddin’s car split in two and caught fire after hitting a tree at the Six Hills junction on the A46, in the early hours of 11 February 2022.
Karwan, 29, from Leicester, and Jamal, 23, from Loughborough, were driving the vehicles used to pursue the victims.
In a 999 call made by front-seat passenger Mr Hussain moments before his death, he said their car was being “rammed off the road” by balaclava-wearing assailants in two pursuing cars.
In the call, a distressed Mr Hussain said: “There’s guys following me, they have balaclavas on… they’re trying to ram me off the road.
“They’re trying to kill me, I’m going to die… please sir, I just need help. They’re hitting the back of the car, really fast… please I’m begging you. I’m going to die.”
A scream was heard on the line before the call abruptly ended.
Det Insp Mark Parish of Leicestershire Police called the incident a “callous and cold-blooded attack,” emphasizing that none of the defendants attempted to help the victims after the crash.
The sentencing for those convicted is scheduled for September 1.
Before remanding the convicted defendants into custody, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said: “You know the sentence will be very serious.” Sentencing is due to take place on 1 September.
Victims’ Families Lament Their Losses
Following the verdicts, Mr Hussain’s family said he was a “much-loved young man” who was “kind, compassionate, caring and sensible”.
His loved ones said they had been “shattered by this senseless act” and were still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of their loss.
In a statement, they said: “Saqib’s death has brought so much sadness, not just to his family, but to the many people that knew him.
“We have hope and confidence that Saqib has found eternal rest with Our Lord, and that we will get to be with him again when we pass.
“We also pray that no family will have to go through our experience.”
Mr Ijazuddin’s relatives said he was the “superstar” of their family and their world had come “crashing down” after his death.
In a statement, they said: “Everyone who knew Hashim, loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community.
“Hashim was a cheeky young man who was always smiling, a handsome man who was beautiful both on the inside and out.
“He would do anything for anyone, was very caring and had a very kind heart.
“Hashim would always put others first and wouldn’t hesitate to help others if they needed it.
“On that tragic day, he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death.
“It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age but also in the circumstances in which we lost him