Ansreen Bukhari Verdict: How a Mother-Daughter Duo Killed Two Men in a Fiery Crash

Ansreen Bukhari, 47, and her daughter Mahek Bukhari, 24, were found guilty of murdering two men who died in a fireball when their car was rammed off the road during a late-night chase outside Leicester in February 2022. The victims were Saqib Hussain and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, who had been lured to a car park by the Bukharis under false pretenses.

The motive behind the brutal killings was to silence Hussain, who had been blackmailing Ansreen Bukhari with sexual photos and videos of their affair. This article will explore the background, the events, and the aftermath of this shocking case that has been dubbed the “TikTok Murder”.

Background

Ansreen Bukhari was a married mother of two who lived in London. She met Saqib Hussain, a young man from Banbury, Oxfordshire, through the social media app Azar in 2019. They soon began a secret sexual relationship that lasted for three years. Hussain would buy her clothes, send her takeaways, and pay for hotel rooms where they would meet. He also recorded their intimate moments without her consent.

In late 2021, Ansreen decided to end the affair after she felt guilty and scared of being exposed. However, Hussain did not take the breakup well and started to threaten her by sending explicit videos and images to her husband and son. He also demanded money from her and said he had nothing to lose.

Ansreen Bukhari confided in her daughter Mahek, who was a former TikTok influencer with over 300,000 followers. Mahek was furious with her mother’s infidelity and vowed to make Hussain pay for his actions. She also involved her boyfriend Rekan Karwan, 23, and his friends Raees Jamal, 23, Ameer Jamal, 22, Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, Natasha Akhtar, 22, and Mohammed Patel, 21, in her plan to harm Hussain.

Events

On the night of February 11, 2022, Mahek contacted Hussain and pretended to be interested in him. She asked him to meet her at a Tesco car park in Leicester. Hussain agreed and drove there with his friend Ijazuddin. However, when they arrived, they saw Ansreen Bukhari waiting for them instead of Mahek. Ansreen tried to persuade Hussain to delete the videos and images and leave her alone. Hussain refused and said he wanted more money from her.

At that point, Mahek and the others arrived in three cars and surrounded Hussain’s vehicle. They shouted at him and tried to drag him out of the car. Hussain managed to escape and drove off at high speed. The group followed him in a chase that reached speeds of up to 100mph on the A46 dual carriageway.

During the pursuit, Hussain called 999 and said

There’s guys following me. They’ve got balaclavas on. They’re trying to ram me off the road. They’re trying to kill me – I’m going to die.

The operator tried to calm him down and asked him for his location. However, before he could answer, his car was hit by one of the attackers’ cars and veered off the road. It crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

Hussain and Ijazuddin died at the scene from multiple injuries and burns. The group fled the scene but was later arrested by the police after they traced their phone calls and CCTV footage.

Aftermath

The trial of the eight defendants began in June 2023 at Leicester Crown Court. The prosecution argued that they had acted together in a joint enterprise to kill or seriously injure Hussain and that Ijazuddin was an innocent bystander who was caught up in their plot.

The defense claimed that they had only intended to scare or confront Hussain and that they did not know he would die in such a horrific way. They also blamed each other for causing the crash.

Ansreen Bukhari testified that she never wanted Hussain dead and that she was too scared to go to the police over his threats. She said she wanted to end their relationship on good terms and that she did not know what her daughter and her friends were planning to do.

Mahek Bukhari denied being involved in the chase or the crash. She said she only wanted to talk to Hussain and get him to stop blackmailing her mother. She said she loved her mother despite being angry with her for cheating on her father.

The other defendants also gave various accounts of their roles and motives in the incident. Some said they were only following orders from Mahek or Karwan, while others said they were not aware of the extent of the violence that would ensue.

Verdict

The jury deliberated for more than 20 hours before reaching their verdict on August 4, 2023. They found Ansreen Bukhari, Mahek Bukhari, Rekan Karwan, and Raees Jamal guilty of two counts of murder. They found Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal, and Sanaf Gulammustafa guilty of two counts of manslaughter. They found Mohammed Patel not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

The judge adjourned the sentencing until August 18, 2023. He said he would consider the minimum terms for the murderers and the appropriate sentences for the manslaughter convictions. He also praised the police and the prosecution for their work on the case.

Summary

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