A former TikTok personality involved in a fatal crash resulting in the deaths of her mother’s partner and his acquaintance at high speed has seen a reduction in her prison sentence.
Mahek Bukhari, who was 22 years old at the time of the incident, was initially sentenced to a minimum of 31 years and eight months in September 2023 for the murders of Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain. Following an appeal, her sentence was shortened to 26 years and 285 days, with judges considering her youth as a mitigating factor.
Mahek, from Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, collaborated with her mother, Ansreen Bukhari, in a plot to harm Saqib, who was threatening to expose his affair with Ansreen using explicit content. Ansreen received a 27-year prison term, which remains unchanged.
The court criticized the initial manslaughter sentences of Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal, and Sanaf Gulamustafa as excessive, reducing each by two years. Lord Justice Warby emphasized that the severity of the offense was not adequately balanced with the defendants’ minor roles.
During the trial in 2023, Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with minimum terms of 26 years and 10 months and 31 years, respectively. The prosecutors described the crash as a case involving love, obsession, extortion, and premeditated murder.
The tragic incident stemmed from a relationship between Saqib and Ansreen that turned sour, leading to blackmail attempts. Mahek and her mother orchestrated an ambush on Hashim and Saqib, resulting in a fatal collision. The defendants were swiftly apprehended at their residence after the crash.
The court proceedings revealed the dramatic events leading up to the crash, including frantic calls for help from Saqib as he was being pursued on the road. The defendants’ social media presence, particularly Mahek’s significant following on TikTok and Instagram, added a layer of complexity to the case.