Three accomplices involved in a fatal 100 mph car chase that resulted in the deaths of two young men have been unsuccessful in their attempts to challenge their manslaughter convictions.
Saqib Hussain and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, died when their car crashed into a tree and erupted in flames on the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester. The pursuit was orchestrated by Ansreen Bukhari, 49, and her TikTok influencer daughter Mahek Bukhari, 26, along with five others. The group allegedly lured Mr. Hussain to a meeting point with the intention of buying his silence for £3,000, which he claimed to have spent during a three-year affair with Ansreen Bukhari.
During a trial at Leicester Crown Court, it was heard that Mr. Hussain, who had been dumped by his married lover, was allegedly threatening to expose their affair using sexually explicit material. When Mr. Hussain and Mr. Ijazuddin realized the meeting was a trap and attempted to flee, they were pursued by two vehicles. Moments before their deaths, Mr. Hussain called emergency services, stating their car was being rammed off the road and that he feared he would die.
Forensic collision investigators determined that one of the pursuing vehicles reached speeds of up to 100 mph. The accomplices, identified as Rekhan Karwan, Raees Jamal, Ameer Jamal, Sanaf Gulamustafa, and Natasha Akhtar, were passengers in one of the vehicles involved in the chase.
Ameer Jamal, Gulamustafa, and Akhtar had appealed their convictions, arguing they were convicted of unlawful act manslaughter without the trial judge clearly identifying the specific unlawful action that caused death. Their legal teams contended that they were passengers who denied being part of a plot to cause harm and were unaware their car would ram into the victims' vehicle.
However, three judges at the Court of Appeal in London dismissed their appeals. Lord Justice Jeremy Baker stated that the jury would have understood the common plan referred to was to attack Mr. Hussain with the intent to kill or cause serious bodily harm. The court found that the questions posed to the jury appropriately addressed the matters for their consideration.
Previously, Ameer Jamal and Gulamustafa had success in challenging their sentences. Ameer Jamal was originally sentenced to 12 years and eight months, Gulamustafa to 12 years and nine months, and Akhtar to nine years and eight months. In a separate challenge, Mahek Bukhari's minimum sentence was reduced from 31 years and eight months to 26 years and 285 days. Her legal team argued that her youth and immaturity should have resulted in a shorter sentence. The Court of Appeal acknowledged that Mahek's response to the blackmail was disproportionate and that her youth and immaturity were given insufficient weight in sentencing.
Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal received life sentences with minimum terms of 26 years and ten months and 31 years, respectively, for two counts of murder. Ansreen Bukhari was also given a life sentence with a minimum term of 26 years and nine months.