In February 2022, Mahek Bukhari, 24, and her mother Ansreen, 46, murdered Saqib Hussain and his friend Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, along with other conspirators. Bukhari was very popular on the social media platforms TikTok and Instagram, and she even dropped out of university to pursue her career solely off those platforms.
Bukhari has been sentenced to life in prison alongside her mother in 2023, though both have the opportunity to be considered for parole in several years. The other conspirators have been convicted of murder and manslaughter. It’s unknown which prisons those sentenced have been sent to, as that hasn’t been disclosed.
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Where is Mahek Bukhari now?
Mahek Bukhari is a 24-year-old woman from Stoke-on-Trent, and she dropped out of university to pursue her dreams of social media stardom. And the results of her time and effort were finally starting to shine through, as she boasted 126,000 followers on TikTok and over 43,000 on Instagram. She was even paid for promoting brands and invited to product launches across the UK, all only 18 months before her arrest. Many of her videos included her showing the “elite relationship” she had with her 46-year-old mother Ansreen, whom she described as being like a “sister” and a “best friend.”
However, this all came crashing down when Bukhari, her mother Ansreen, and others took part in the double murder of Saqib Hussain and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin on February 11, 2022. Bukhari was subsequently found guilty of two counts of murder, and in September 2023 was sentenced to life behind bars with a chance of parole after 31 years and eight months in an undisclosed prison, somewhere in the UK.
What did Mahek Bukhari do?
The story started with Ansreen in 2021. She began an affair with the 21-year-old Saqib Hussain after meeting him on the video app Azar in 2021, where Ansreen was “flattered” by the interest that Hussain showed in her according to Leicestershire Police. The pair met many times in shisha lounges, hotels, and restaurants before their relationship broke down. When Ansreen attempted to break it off, Hussain threatened to reveal explicit material of their relationship to her husband.
Instead of going to the police, Ansreen went to her daughter, and the two would hatch a plan to murder Hussain. In furtherance of this plot, Mahek recruited Rekan Karwan, Raees Jamal, Ameer Jamal, Sanaf Gulummustafa, Natasha Akhtar, and Mohammed Patel to get back at Hussain. They lured him to a Tesco car park in Leicester on February 11, 2022. Hussain got a lift from his friend, Hashim Ijazuddin, also 21, who knew nothing about the affair. Mahek and Ansreen falsely agreed to pay Hussain £3,000, which was allegedly the amount he’d spent on Ansreen during their affair.
However, Hussain and Ijazuddin quickly realized something was wrong, and left. They were followed and later chased on the A46 in their Skoda Fabia. Mahek called Hussain at this point, but it’s unknown what they said. A highspeed chase followed.
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- Saqib and Hashim’s Skoda leaving the Tesco car park | Image via Leicestershire Police
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- A High Speed Chase Occured on the A46 | Image via Leicestershire Police
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- The aftermath of the crash | Image via Leicestershire Police
During the trial, the jury heard Hussain’s distressing phone call he made to 999. “They’re right behind. They’re hitting into the back of the car very fast. Please I’m begging you, I’m going to die.” In the early hours of the morning, the Skoka was rammed off the road and went up in flames, killing both men. They had to be identified by their dental records.
Mahek and Ansreen were both convicted of two counts of murder. Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal were also both convicted of two counts of murder. Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal, and Sanaf Gulamustafa were found not guilty of murder but convicted of two counts of manslaughter. Mohammed Patel was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter. On September 1, 2023, Bukhari was given a life sentence alongside Ansreen.
Bukhari will have to serve at least 31 years and eight months before she is eligible to be considered for parole. Ansreen will have to serve at least 26 years and nine months before she can be considered for parole.
Where is Mahek Bukhari from?
Mahek Bukhari is from the town of Tunstall in the UK. The town is in the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands, just north of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It’s got a global reputation for its ceramics and pottery.
It’s unknown which university Bukhari dropped out of to pursue a career as a social media influencer, or which degree she was studying.
@itvnews Tiktok influencer sentenced to life in prison for murder #mahekbukhari #uk #leicester #tiktok #influencer
What jail is Mahek Bukhari in?
The jail where Mahek Bukari will serve her sentence is unknown and hasn’t been disclosed to the public. Speculating which jail she’s in is difficult, as there are around 140 prisons in the UK at the time of writing.
