TikTok influencer's web of lies that led to downfall in murder of mum's lover
A TikTok influencer whose plot to murder her mum's young lover led to his death in a horrific 100mph car crash was undone by a web of lies she told to police.
Mahek Bukhari and her mum Ansreen were jailed for life today for the murders of Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain, following the smash on the A46 in Leicester on February 11 last year. During the trial, the jury heard how Hashim and Saqib, both 21, had travelled from Banbury in Oxfordshire to Leicester to meet Mahek, 23, and Ansreen, 47, and receive £3,000 in blackmail cash after Saqib had been threatening to post nude images and sexual videos of Ansreen - who he'd been having a three-year affair with - online.
Instead, Mahek and her mother hatched a plan to ambush them, with Mahek and her two friends chasing the two men up the A46. Defendant Raees Jamal, 22, behind the wheel of a Seat Leon, rammed into the men's Skoda Fabia, sending them crashing into the central reservation. The vehicle 'split in two' before bursting into flames, killing the two men inside.
As the investigation unfolded, it quickly became clear to police that Mahek was not telling the truth, with her web of lies unravelling before her. She initially tried to make police believe the victim wanted to kill himself.
Mahek Bukhari spun a web of deceit when she was interviewed by police (Police handout)Within about eight hours of the crash, Mahek and her mother, Ansreen, were arrested at their home in Staffordshire and later taken to be interviewed by detectives in Leicester. She told police Saqib Hussain was 'psychotic', 'self-harmed' and 'would do anything'.
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During the trial, the prosecution asked the social media star if she had been trying to suggest to the police that Saqib had taken his own life by causing the crash, in which he and his friend died. She said yes. When asked why, she said: "Because he is the type. He sent messages where he's tried to gain attention from my mum to kill himself."
Then, Mahek said she had not known her mother was having an affair with Saqib in May 2021, despite the fact she was at a party in Banbury with both of them that month when they were seen hugging and kissing "throughout" the event. Mahek insisted she only found out about the affair in December 2021.
One witness who was also a the party in May 2021 in which he said: "Thoughout the evening I noticed Saqib and the older female [Ansreen] holding hands, kissing and hugging." He said they also went to the bedroom together at one point.
Caught out on the stand during the trial, Mahek said she did at one point notice Saqib try to kiss her mother and she had asked Ansreen if anything was going on, but Ansreen denied it. Mahek said: "Saqib tried to kiss my mum. They were really close together."
Influencer Mahek Bukhari, 22, and her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 45 (Tik Tok)
Bukhari has been jailed for life (PA)During the police interview, mum Ansreen remained tight-lipped and answered 'no comment' when questioned. Mahek, however, appeared to open up about everything the police wanted to know. She even told officers that she was an experienced driver of at least four years as she pretended not to know to whom the others cars involved belonged.
She is seen telling officers: "I said to my mum, what is this car trying to do?" The TikToker pretended she had nothing to do with the chase along the A46, suggesting she was trying to get away from what she said appeared to be a silver car, agitating a blue Skoda - the car Saqib and Hashim were in. She also claimed she thought they were drunk.
She continued: "I looked at my mum and I says 'Mum, what is going on? What is wrong with... Are they, are they... I don't know if they're drunk... What are they trying to do to this blue car in general? My mum said 'May like I said, leave it, you're not involved, you don't know what's going on, you just go straight on and leave it.'"
Mahek had also made up a story about going to Nottingham on the night of the fatal crash, which she had mentioned during her and her mother's arrest. The TikToker wove a messy web of deceit which ultimately fell apart in front of the jury.
Lying to officers she described the incident saying: "I've gone past and I've gone further away from this car on the left side, and then the blue car has caught up with me on the right side - I don't know who they are."
Innocent Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, who died in the crash (PA)
Saqib Hussain was having an affair with Ansreen (PA)In a final twist, Mahek had given police a PIN that had not worked so they could not look at messages or anything else on her phone.
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While her mother, Ansreen, had deleted every single mention of Saqib from her phone before the police looked at it, Mahek had taken screen shots of many of her mother's messages, including ones threating to get Saqib "jumped" and to have other people scare him.
Footage from police attending the crash scene, at about 1.35am, showed the Skoda in flames, resting against a tree by the Six Hills junction near Leicester. The court heard how "completely innocent" Mr Ijazuddin agreed to drive his friend to Leicester that night and had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time", with the favour to Mr Hussain turning out "to be a tragic and fatal mistake".
After his death, Mr Hussain's family would later tell detectives he had been having a three-year affair with the older woman, who was married with children. Mr Hussain "appeared to be in love" with Mrs Bukhari, whom he knew as Anzy, while her daughter was "aware of the relationship, and was happy to tolerate it, if not approve of it", said Mr Thompson.
On January 4, 2022, Mahek Bukhari sent her mother a message which read: "I'll get him jumped by guys and he won't know what day it is." When Mr Hussain also tried to get Mahek Bukhari to get her mother to reply to him, the influencer replied: "She ain't a dog, don't f** raise your voice and tell me what to do."
Later, she allegedly told him: "I am sorry that this year you'll be gone, Saqib."
(Left to right) Ansreen Bukhari, Mahek Bukhari, Raees Jamal, Rekhan Karwan, Sanaf Gulamustafa, Ameer Jamal and Natasha Akhtar (PA)Mahek, of George Eardley Close in Stoke has been sentenced to life in prison. She will serve a minimum of 31 years and eight months before she can be freed. Ansreen, of the same address, was also given life with a minimum of 26 years and nine months.
Judge Timothy Spencer KC told the court: "The prosecution categorised this as a story of love, obsession and extortion and in that they were right. They were also right in categorising this case as one of cold-blooded murder."
Raees Jamal, of Lingdale Close, is already serving a 10-year jail term for raping a woman at his home in Loughborough in 2020. He has now been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 36 years. 28-year-old Karwan, of Tomlin Road, Leicester, sentenced alongside Ansreen, also has 26 years and nine months to wait for parole, with a short deductions of a few months for time served on tagged curfew.
Akhtar, 22, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, was given a 12-year sentence. That was reduced to 11 years and eight months due to time on tagged curfew. Ameer Jamal, 27, Catherine Street, Belgrave, Leicester, will service 14 years and eight months, while Gulammustafa, 22, of Littlemore Close, Crown Hills, Leicester, will serve 14 years and nine months.
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