A46 deaths: Murder accused denies making up car-ramming story

Mohammed Patel was cross-examined by barristers on Wednesday

A man accused of murder has denied he "made up a story" that his co-defendant rammed two men off the road.

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

It is alleged a group in two cars rammed the pair's Skoda Fabia to keep secret an affair between co-defendant Ansreen Bukhari and Mr Hussain.

Mohammed Patel, a passenger in one of the cars, gave evidence on Wednesday at Leicester Crown Court.

The court previously heard Mr Hussain, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, had been blackmailing Mrs Bukhari with sexual videos and images from their three-year affair.

It also heard Mr Hussain had been demanding back up to £3,000 he had spent on dates with her, and a meeting was arranged to hand it over.

But the prosecution said Mrs Bukhari and her TikTok influencer daughter Mahek were actually planning to seize Mr Hussain's phone containing the explicit material.

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

Footage from the Tesco car park, where the meeting was due to take place, showed Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin never got out of their car, which the prosecution says was because they became suspicious.

Instead, they left the car park, pursued by a Seat Leon and an Audi TT, containing the defendants.

'Ram him'

The jury has previously been shown Mr Patel's police interview.

In it, he says a call was made from his phone in which Audi driver Rekan Karwan, spoke to Seat driver Raees Jamal, on loudspeaker.

Mr Patel told police Mr Jamal said to Mr Karwan he was "going to try and stop the guy - I might have to ram him", with Mr Karwan then saying,"Yeah go on, ram him."

The prosecution claims the car carrying Mr Ijazuddin and Mr Hussain was rammed off the road

Leonard Smith KC, for Mr Jamal, said to Mr Patel: "You made up the ramming story, didn't you?", suggesting he did so to avoid being charged.

Mr Patel denied this.

'That's false'

Christopher Millington KC, for Ms Bukhari, asked Mr Patel if he had been repeating back the police's suggestion that the car had been rammed off the road.

Mr Patel said: "That's false... I told the police what I remembered."

In his interview he said there were "multiple impacts" between the Seat and the Skoda.

But giving evidence on Wednesday, he said there were "two impacts".

"Does that mean that you think now that what you said to police about those multiple impacts was not correct?" Mr Millington asked.

Mr Patel replied: "At the time, a lot of things were going through my head and I wasn't really thinking.

"I just got arrested for two murders, I was 20 years old and I had my whole life in front of me."

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

The trial continues.