TikToker Mahek Bukhari's murder-accused mum 'didn't see' A46 crash

Ansreen Bukhari gave evidence at Leicester Crown Court for a second day

A woman accused of killing her young lover said she did not see him die in a crash, a court heard.

Ansreen Bukhari, 46, her TikTok influencer daughter Mahek and six others deny killing Saqib Hussain and his friend Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21.

The men's car was rammed off the A46 in Leicestershire on 11 February 2022 to keep secret an affair between Ansreen and Mr Hussain, the prosecution says.

Giving evidence, she told the jury she had her "head down" during the chase.

Leicester Crown Court previously heard Mr Hussain, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, had been threatening to send explicit videos and images of his lover to her husband after she broke off their three-year affair.

The court has also heard Mrs Bukhari and Mahek, 24, plotted with six others, driving from their home in Stoke-on-Trent to Leicester and arranging to meet Mr Hussain in a Tesco car park under false pretences.

Hashim Ijazuddin (left) and Saqib Hussain died at the scene of the crash

The prosecution alleges the group, in an Audi TT and a Seat Leon, were attempting to retrieve Mr Hussain's phone to stop the publication of sexually explicit images and videos of Ansreen.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Collingwood Thompson KC said a Skoda Fabia containing Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin arrived in the Hamilton Tesco car park but left shortly after arriving.

The Audi TT and the Seat Leon then went after the Skoda, the court heard.

Giving evidence for a second day, Mrs Bukhari said she intended to "just speak" to Mr Hussain and had "no intention" to harm him.

Co-accused Mohammed Patel told police that he held up his phone to Rekan Karwan, the Audi driver, so he could speak to Raees Jamal, the Seat driver.

Mr Patel alleges Mr Jamal said to Mr Karwan that he "might have to ram him", to which the Audi driver responded: "Ram him."

Mrs Bukhari, who was in the Audi's passenger seat, said the word "ram" was not said in the car.

On the chase and the crash itself, she said: "At that point, I just had my head down. I was stressed; I was upset."

She also denied knowledge of how the Seat Leon sustained damage.

Mrs Bukhari's social media influencer daughter, Mahek (right), is also on trial accused of murder

The mother-of-two told the court the Skoda Fabia was "swerving" while driving on the A46.

"I was thinking in my mind was that [the Skoda] lost control," she said.

Her barrister Patrick Upward KC asked about footage seen previously by the jury of the defendants walking around Leicester after they parked in Sutton Place.

Mrs Bukhari said there was no attempt to come up with what the prosecution say was a "cover story".

She told the court: "I was just too upset, I was quite traumatised, I was just shocked.

"There was complete silence."

Mrs Bukhari also told the jury she had an affair with a second man and was "so ashamed and embarrassed".

Prosecutor Collingwood Thompson KC began his cross-examination of Ansreen Bukhari on Wednesday

Under cross-examination by Mr Thompson, Mrs Bukhari admitted lying under oath at a previous trial by saying she had been faithful to her husband, apart from her affair with Mr Hussain.

She said she did this to "try and save her marriage".

Mr Thompson asked her about her motive in meeting up with Mr Hussain in Leicester, asking if she had been travelling at recorded speeds of 100 mph (161 km/h) in the Audi TT to "set a trap".

She denied this was the case.

"Wasn't one of the objectives of this to get Saqib's phone?" Mr Thompson said.

"Was the intention to beat him up to stop him sending the pictures to your husband?"

Mrs Bukhari said: "I just wanted to talk to him; no harm, nothing. There was no plan - the plan was to speak to him."

Front, from left: Ansreen Bukhari, Mahek Bukhari, Rekan Karwan, Raees Jamal with back, from left: Ameer Jamal, Sanaf Gulammustafa, Natasha Akhtar and Mohammed Patel

The defendants are:

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

• Mahek Bukhari, 24, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent

• Rekan Karwan, 29, of Tomlin Road, Leicester

• Raees Jamal, 23, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough

• Mohammed Patel, 21, 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

All eight deny two counts of murder and alternative charges of two counts of manslaughter.

The trial continues.