The trial is ongoing as three women and five men contest two counts of murder and two additional manslaughter accusations.
A court heard that a TikTok influencer killed two men after one of them had an affair with her married mother and threatened to use a sex film to blackmail her. Mahek Bukhari, age 23, is charged with planning a scheme to prevent Saqib Hussain, age 21, from disclosing alleged pornographic photographs of her mother, Ansreen Bukhari, age 45.
Just after midnight on February 11, Saqib and his companion Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, 21, perished after their car was rammed off the road and caught fire. After Saqib threatened to leak sexually graphic material of Ansreen to her husband and son, Mahek allegedly set up a “trap” to “silence” him.
In addition, it was stated that Saqib threatened Ansreen with blackmail and demanded £2,000 to £3,000 in exchange for her not disclosing the photos and “dirty” films. In order to protect her own social media following, Mahek promised to have Saqib “jumped by guys,” adding, “He won’t know what day it is.”
When their Skoda Fabia hit a tree at a high rate of speed and split in two on the A46 in Leicester, the two men from Banbury, Oxfordshire, died instantaneously. In a terrifying 999 call aired to the jury, Saqib is heard informing call takers that they are being pursued by individuals wearing balaclavas.
His pleading “Two cars are chasing after me. The goal is to run me off the road.
They are directly behind. They are quickly colliding with the back of the automobile. I’m about to get run off the road.
I just need aid and I’m in trouble, so please, mister. They are attempting to murder me. I’m going to die, so pled with you.
He then yells, followed by a loud crash. Both Mahek and Ansreen are from Stoke-on-George Trent’s Eardley Close. Along with her mother Ansreen and her friend Natasha Akhtar, 22, Mehek is accused with two charges of murder and an additional charge of manslaughter.
Rekan Karwan, 28, of Tomlin Road, Leicester, and Raees Jamal, 22, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough, who are both accused of recruiting others, including Akhtar, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, who owned one of the cars involved in the alleged pursuit, co-accused Rekan Karwan and Raees Jamal, both of whom were present in the dock with the women. Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, of Littlemore Close; Ameer Jamal, 27; and Mohammed Patel, 20, of Braybrooke Road, all of Leicester, are also on the dock.
The two counts of murder and two additional manslaughter charges are all denied by the three ladies and five males. The prosecution’s opening statement at Leicester Crown Court was that the case involved “love, obsession, fury, attempts at extortion, and murder.”
He stated: “The phone call sparked a thorough investigation into this case, exposing a tale of love, passion, rage, extortion attempts, and ultimately murder. He knew what was happening to him, therefore this wasn’t an accident.
“In this way, the authorities are able to rule out simple traffic accidents. They are going to run me off the road, they are going to kill me, he repeatedly cried.
“That 911 call launched a significant murder inquiry.” Mr. Thompson informed the court that Saqib’s sister had learned of his three-year relationship with Ansreen.
Although Saqib’s smartphone was completely damaged in the fire, detectives were still able to access data stored in the iCloud. The authorities were able to piece together their relationship because to the information on his iCloud account that was accessible via his phone, Mr. Thompson continued.
“Saqib has gotten in touch with Ansreen Bukhari 1,702 times between August 10, 2021, and February 9, 2022. During this time, Ansreen also spoke with Saqib 214 times.
“The volume of calls indicates that the two of them had a relationship. Information from a mobile phone on iCloud revealed a sexual interaction between two
The court was informed that although the relationship had just ended, Saqib still texted and called the woman to try to restart things. Added Mr. Thompson: “When she didn’t return his calls, he developed a severe case of obsession and started using blackmail.
He threatened to email her son and husband the sexually explicit Instagram content if she did not get in touch with him. Jurors were also told about WhatsApp communications Mahek Bukhari and Ansreen exchanged regarding Saqib’s persistent messaging.
Mahek stated to her mother on January 4 in a message, “I’ll get him jumped by guys and he won’t know what day it is.” Added Mr. Thompson: “We will learn that she was saying “I’ll take care of that,” and that he was jumped mostly by guys and killed.
“From January through February, Saqib had made threats after threats.” You know what I’m capable of, Saqib told Ansreen in one of his messages. I’ll send you first in your underwear.
Saqib needed to be silenced, either temporarily by killing him or permanently by inflicting a pretty significant injury on him, according to Mr. Thompson. It was concerned that Asreen Bukhari’s marriage might have fallen apart and that the affair might have harmed her standing in her society.
Because Mahek was aware of the affair, it might have had an impact on her relationship with her father. Mahek was well-known on TikTok as a social influencer.
The suspected conspirators, according to Thompson, were planning a “trap.” Added him: “They were supposed to set a trap. To collect the money, the plan was to seduce Saqib into attending a meeting.
“He would face numerical advantage once at the meeting, and it was anticipated he would turn the phone over. If not, they would seriously hurt him.”
The court was informed that witnesses passing by the area witnessed the burning car and thought it had “disintegrated.” Thompson continued: “The cops could see a fire in the distance by the time they boarded the twin carriage.
“They couldn’t safely approach the fire due to its ferocity. They didn’t notice a body hanging out of the car or another person in the driver’s seat until after they had extinguished the fire.
“They were both recognised through dental examinations and were both 21 years old. Three of the defendants present here today had been taken into custody by 9.30am on the same morning.
Natasha Akhtar, Mahek Bukhari, and Ansreen Bukhari were present. The trial goes on.