Murder-accused TikToker denies being responsible for fatal crash

TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari is on trial at Leicester Crown Court

A TikTok influencer accused of murdering her mother's former lover has told jurors she was not responsible for the car crash that killed him.

Mahek Bukhari accepts being a passenger in a car that was pursuing Saqib Hussain and his friend Hashim Ijazuddin, who also died in the crash.

However, she claims she was merely following the car in the hope Mr Hussain would stop and they could talk.

She denies two counts of murder and alternative charges of manslaughter.

During cross-examination at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday, she was asked by prosecution barrister Collingwood Thompson KC about the moment she saw the Skoda Fabia leave the carriageway before it crashed.

He asked: "Did you regard yourself as in any way responsible for what happened to the Skoda?"

Ms Bukhari, who had been in an Audi TT, replied: "No."

Mr Thompson asked: "Did you think that the Skoda had crashed?"

She replied: "No. I saw it going towards the central reservation."

When he pressed her on this, she said: "I didn't think the Skoda had crashed. I don't know what I was thinking. I had just seen it go towards the central reservation and that's it."

The two men died when their Skoda Fabia crashed into a tree beside the A46 in Leicestershire

Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin died in the early hours of 11 February 2022, when the Skoda Fabia crashed into a tree beside the A46 in Leicestershire and burst into flames.

The prosecution's case is that the car was intentionally forced off the road.

Prosecutors say the motive for the alleged murders centres around an affair Mr Hussain had been having with Ms Bukhari's mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, who is one of the co-defendants.

After Mrs Bukhari ended the affair, the court heard Mr Hussain, 21, had been threatening to send sexual photos and videos of her to her husband and son.

The trial has also heard Mr Hussain had been demanding up to £3,000 he had spent on dates with Mrs Bukhari during their affair, and a meeting was arranged at a supermarket car park in Leicester to hand it over.

However, the prosecution say the mother and daughter were planning to seize Mr Hussain's phone containing the explicit material.

Hashim Ijazuddin (left) and Saqib Hussain, both 21, died at the scene of the crash

CCTV footage of the car park shows Mr Hussain and his friend never got out of their car, and the prosecution say this was because they became suspicious.

Instead, their Skoda Fabia left the car park, followed by a Seat Leon and Audi TT containing the defendants.

Mr Thompson said telematics from the Audi TT showed it had been travelling at about 100mph (161km/h) before the crash.

He asked Ms Bukhari: "What was so urgent that you had to keep pursuing this vehicle? The fact is, he was showing no signs of wanting to stop for you to talk, was he?"

She replied: "I understand, but I was just hoping he would stop."

Mr Thompson asked: "Was the reason for this urgency because you were desperate to get hold of his phone to delete the incriminating pictures?"

She replied: "No."

Mr Thompson said: "That's why there was this pressure. Not because you were desperate to talk to him but because you were desperate to get the material off his phone."

She replied: "No."

Mahek Bukhari had posted on social media about being close to her mother

Raees Jamal, who was driving the Seat Leon, told jurors he felt some responsibility for the deaths.

When asked why, he said: "Because I feel like at the time if I wasn't driving as fast, and if he [Hashim Ijazuddin] wasn't driving as fast, it wouldn't have led to the tragic accident."

He admitted there had been contact between the Seat Leon and Skoda Fabia at one point, but said this had been unintentional.

"I didn't want to damage my car at all or risk anyone's life," he said.

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

Mr Jamal told jurors he had gone to the meeting to support Ms Bukhari, who told him Mr Hussain had been blackmailing her with fake sexual images of her.

"She said if she didn't pay the money he would publicly expose her or go down to her house with a group of guys," he said.

"She asked me to come for support just in case anything got out of hand, because she felt scared by this guy that was threatening her."

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

The trial continues.