TikToker Mahek Bukhari found guilty of murder following fatal car chase

TikToker Mahek Bukhari has been found guilty of murder after she and her mother — alongside several others — rammed a car off the road, resulting in the death of two men.

Popular TikToker Mahek Bukhari was involved in a road traffic incident on February 11, 2022, that resulted in the deaths of two men; Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21. A murder investigation was launched and eight people were arrested and charged.

Mahek’s fellow defendants included her mother, Ansreen Bukhari, 45, Raees Jamal, 21, Rekan Karwan, 28, Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, Ameer Jamal, 28, Natasha Akhtar, 21, and Mohammed Patel.

Four have now been found guilty of murder after it was discovered the high-speed chase took place over a long-running affair that went sour between Ansreen and Saqib.

Saqib had been threatening to expose the affair to Ansreen’s husband and son using sexually explicit material after she had ended their three-year relationship a month prior.

The prosecution alleged Saqib was then “lured” to a car park to be “jumped” by Mahek’s associates in an attempt to stop the blackmailing. Saqib’s friend did not know the defendants and was only driving the vehicle as a “favor” to his childhood friend.

Saqib and his friend drove off with two cars carrying the eight defendants in pursuit. The chase reached speeds of up to 100mph before the victim’s car was rammed off the road and engulfed in flames.

The jury heard a panicked phone call Saqib made to 999 moments before the crash in which he said, “I’m being followed by two vehicles… they’ve got balaclavas on… They’re trying to kill me, I’m going to die…”

The victims’ vehicle then hit a central reservation barrier and a tree while doing 80mlh, causing the car to be “split into two.”

“This was a callous and cold-blooded attack which ultimately cost two men their lives,” said Mark Parish from the East Midlands major investigations unit. “None of the defendants made any attempt to help the victims or to call for help. Instead, they drove on and then even drove back past the collision site.”

A trial at Leicester Crown Court saw Mahek, Ansreen, Raees, and Rekan convicted of murder. Sanaf, Ameer, and Natasha were found not guilty of murder but were convicted of manslaughter, and Mohammed Patel was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

Mahek sobbed as the verdict was delivered after more than 28 hours of deliberations and a three-month trial. The defendants will be sentenced on 1 September, with Mahek facing life in jail.