Gang boss behind PC Sharon Beshenivsky killing led millionaire’s lifestyle after faking his own death & fleeing the UK

Cops revealed how they caught out the gang boss

A gang boss who killed a police officer led a millionaire’s lifestyle after faking his own death and fleeing the UK.

Piran Ditta Khan, now 75, was yesterday found guilty of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky - and on at least two occasions cops received "intelligence" claiming he had died in Pakistan.

Khan in custody before being extradited from PakistanCredit: BBC/UNPIXS

Khan, 75, was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of the murder of PC Sharon BeshenivskyCredit: AP 

PC Sharon Beshenivsky was shot during an armed robbery in Bradford in 2005Credit: AP 

The safe house in Harehills Lane used by the gangCredit: SWNS 

In reality, however, the married takeaway owner was living the high life, having set himself up as a property developer.

PC Beshenivsky, 38, was gunned down while responding to an armed robbery at a travel agents in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 2005.

Her colleague PC Teresa Milburn, who was 37 at the time, was left seriously injured after a gunman opened fire "indiscriminately" as he fled the scene.

Khan admitted robbery, and was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

Seven men have been found guilty over the botched robbery, which saw the gang flee with just £5,000.

Footage released by police yesterday shows the two PCs walking towards the shop before the shooting.

Three men can then be seen running across the road and fleeing the scene in a convoy of cars.

Separate footage also shows the moment grey-haired Khan, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2020, was finally charged with murder after being brought back to the UK in April 2023.

Leeds Crown Court was told he was not one of the three men who carried out the raid and did not shoot the mum, who had three children and two stepchildren but was "pivotal" in its planning.

Ex Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, who led the hunt for PC Beshenivsky’s killers, including robbery "organiser" Khan, said initially they were told he had died in a road traffic accident.

And later that he’d died of "natural causes".

Khan went under multiple aliases and at one stage registered a grave in his home village in Pakistan online.

Mr Brennan said he had promised PC Beshenivsky’s family he "would leave no stone unturned" and that he and colleagues were suspicious of the intelligence received.

"We had no confirmation, so we carried on trying to track him down," he told The Mirror.

He added seeing Khan convicted is "the final piece in the jigsaw".

In the weeks after the fatal raid, Khan had moved ahead with plans to open a takeaway in Aberdeen, Scotland, but as other gang members began to be arrested he fled to Pakistan.

He lived a millionaire lifestyle in the "Mayfair of Islamabad".

Khan was finally arrested by officers from the British National Crime Agency and Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency as he road a motorbike to property viewing near his home in Bahria Town.

Wanted posters had appeared near his home village offering a £20,000 reward.

"He had bought a nice home in the area and bought several cars. This is where the very rich live so he had an exclusive lifestyle."

Source

A source told The Mirror: "It is believed he moved to Islamabad because he felt he was able to disappear - but this proved increasingly difficult as his property business was doing reasonably well.

"He had bought a nice home in the area and bought several cars. This is where the very rich live so he had an exclusive lifestyle."

Khan later tried to fight extradition and arrived at court surrounded by armed guards, telling reporters outside: "I’ve got nothing to do with the killing."

At the time, PC Beshenivsky was only the second policewoman to be killed on duty in the UK.

Khan stayed in this Mercedes SLK during the raidCredit: SWNS

Bodyworn video of Khan issued by West Yorkshire Police at Elland Road Police Station in April 2023Credit: PA

CCTV of Khan being taken into custodyCredit: AP

Suspect running away after the shooting of PC BeshenivskyCredit: PA

James Smith