A TikTok influencer and her mother have been found guilty of murdering two men during a high-speed car chase as the victims’ families paid tribute.
Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin died when their car left the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester on February 11 last year, with prosecutors saying during a three-month trial at Leicester Crown Court that they were deliberately rammed off the road.
Jurors deliberated for more than 28 hours before returning a verdict on Friday afternoon, finding YouTube and TikTok content creator Mahek Bukhari and her mother Ansreen Bukhari guilty of two counts of murder.
Mahek Bukhari sobbed in the dock as the verdict was read out.
Mr Hussain’s family released a hearfelt tribute following the verdict, saying he was a “much-loved young man”.
In a statement issued through Leicestershire Police, they said: “He was kind, compassionate, caring and sensible. My family has been shattered by this senseless act and we are still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of our loss. I do not feel that we have received justice as we have now got a life sentence.
“Saqib’s death has brought so much sadness, not just to his family, but to the many people that knew him.
“I never imagined that I would have to bury one of my children; that I would spend every waking moment suddenly expecting him to come back and tell me everything is OK; endlessly searching for his face whenever I am in public even though I know it is impossible.
“We have hope and confidence that Saqib has found eternal rest with Our Lord and that we will get to be with him again when we pass. We also pray that no family will have to go through our experience.”
Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin’s family said the circumstances of his murder were “extremely painful”.
Speaking after his killers were convicted, their emotional statement said: “The day we found out Hashim had died, our world came crashing down. His death has changed everything.
“Everyone who knew Hashim loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community.
“Hashim was a cheeky young man who was always smiling, a handsome man who was beautiful both on the inside and out. He would do anything for anyone, was very caring and had a very kind heart.
“Hashim would always put others first and wouldn’t hesitate to help others if they needed it. On that tragic day, he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death.
“It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age, but also in the circumstances in which we lost him.
“We will always be extremely proud of Hashim. Whatever he would have done in life, we know he would have excelled in it. Hashim was and will always be our superstar and our one-in-a-million.”
Long-running affair led to ambush
Fellow defendants Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal were also found guilty of two counts of murder – while Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal and Sanaf Gulamustafa were all found not guilty of murder, but guilty of two counts of manslaughter.
Mohammed Patel was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter.
The victims, both 21 and from Banbury in Oxfordshire, were in a Skoda chased by Audi and Seat vehicles containing the eight defendants.
Mahek Bukhari, 24, was said to have taken part in the ambush after Mr Hussain threatened to use sexually explicit material to expose a long-running affair he had with her 46-year-old mother Ansreen.
The court was told Mr Ijazuddin’s Skoda Fabia “split in two” and caught fire after hitting a tree at the Six Hills junction in the early hours of February 11 last year.
Mahek Bukhari and her mother, both of George Eardley Close, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, had denied two counts of murder.
Prosecutors said Mr Hussain was “lured” into meeting with the Bukharis on the pretence of giving him back the £3,000 he said he had spent on taking his lover out during their tryst.
Instead, Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin, who had driven his friend to Leicester for the meeting as a “favour”, were ambushed and then chased before the fatal crash.
In a 999 call to police made by front-seat passenger Mr Hussain moments before his death, he said their car was being “rammed off the road” by balaclava-wearing assailants in two pursuing cars.
Judge Timothy Spencer KC thanked the jury, made up of five men and seven women, for their “remarkable” service and excused them from jury duty for the next 30 years.
The defendants will be sentenced on September 1.
Before remanding them into custody, the judge said: “You know the sentence will be very serious.”
