Murder-accused TikToker 'told a pack of lies' to police

A social media influencer accused of murdering two men "told a pack of lies" to police over her involvement in the crash that killed them, a court heard.

Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain, both 21, died on the A46 in Leicestershire in February 2022.

Mahek Bukhari, 23, her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, and six others are charged with their murder.

The prosecution said the group rammed the pair off the road to keep an affair between Ansreen and Mr Hussain secret.

All eight defendants deny two counts of murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Prosecutor Collingwood Thompson KC told Leicester Crown Court Mahek Bukhari had been elusive when questioned about the fatal crash.

"Far from telling the police the truth, she told a pack of lies," he said.

"As a social media influencer, she no doubt hoped that her skills would enable her to sell a false story to the police."

At the opening of the retrial on Monday, the prosecution said Mr Hussain had been blackmailing his former lover with sexual videos and images from their affair.

It is claimed the defendants enticed him and his friend Mr Ijazuddin to Leicester for a meeting before ramming their car off the road, causing both men's deaths.

On Tuesday, the court heard after the crash at 01:35 GMT on 11 February, police worked with other forces to trace the Audi TT and Seat Leon the prosecution says were involved.

The jury was shown bodycam footage of officers visiting the Bukharis at their home in George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent, about eight hours after the crash, having traced the Audi TT.

This came hours after co-defendant Natasha Akhtar, the owner of the Seat Leon, was arrested on her way back to her home in Birmingham.

Mr Thompson KC said while her brother was being asked about the car, Mahek Bukhari had a 14-minute call with co-defendant Raees Jamal.

"It's not difficult to infer that Mahek Bukhari picked up on the fact that Raees Jamal had been trying to call her and she must've been telling him the police were in the house," the barrister said.

"He said Natasha Akhtar had been arrested and they were trying cobble some sort of story to deceive police."

Once it was established the pair had been in the Audi TT, Ms Bukhari claimed to officers she and her mother had been to Nottingham, which Mr Thompson KC said "was a lie".

The women were asked to hand over their phones and pin numbers.

However, Mahek Bukhari gave a false pin number and when officers tried to unlock it, her phone had reverted back to its factory settings with the data cleared, the court was told.

Detectives later retrieved messages and call logs from her phone after accessing her iCloud account, the court heard.

Both were arrested and transferred to Leicester to be interviewed under caution.

The barrister said Mahek told police the pair had been intending to travel to Nottingham but ended up in Leicester due to roadworks.

When asked about Mr Hussain, the influencer claimed she had known him for three years and had his number as they had previously dated.

She then claimed he had been harassing and bullying her through her social media channels and demanded money to stop, explaining this was why they came to meet him at a Tesco car park in Hamilton, Leicester.

On the crash itself, she claimed the Skoda Fabia Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin were in was "harassing" the blue Seat Leon but she did not see the impact.

She added she was "praying and hoping" the people inside the silver car were OK and "burst into tears".

The defendants are:

Ansreen Bukhari, 46, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent

Mahek Bukhari, 23, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent

Rekan Karwan, 29, of Tomlin Road, Leicester

Raees Jamal, 22, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough

Mohammed Patel, 22, of Braybrooke Road, Leicester

Natasha Akhtar, 23, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham

Sanaf Gulammustafa, 23, of Littlemore Close, Leicester

Ameer Jamal, 28, of Catherine Street, Leicester

The trial continues.