A young TikTok influencer star has been found guilty of murdering her married mother’s secret younger boyfriend.
Mahek Bukhari, a 24-year-old internet sensation who boasts over 130,000 followers as a beauty and lifestyle creator, allegedly ran her mom’s toyboy Saqib Hussain and his pal Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, off the road in February 2022, according to BBC.
Hussain had allegedly attempted to oust his illicit affair with Mahek’s mother, 46-year-old Ansreen Bukhar, who was also convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court in England this week.
The young lover threatened to reveal sexually explicit images and videos of Ansreen in order to expose their relationship after Ansreen tried to end it.
Mahek allegedly offered to help her mom, writing in a Whatsapp messag: “I’ll soon get him jumped by guys and he won’t know what day it is.”
Mahek allegedly “set a trap” for Hussain, who was under the impression he was meeting with the Bukhari family, who hail from Stoke-on-Trent, to receive approximately $3,000 to keep the affair quiet, according to The Independent.
However, Hussain and his friend Hashim Ijazuddin were allegedly chased and “rammed off the road” by two cars, according to a frantic 999 call heard by the jury.
“There’s guys following me, they have balaclavas on… they’re trying to ram me off the road,” Hussain said on the phone mere moments before the crash, per BBC.
“They’re trying to kill me, I’m going to die… please sir, I just need help. They’re hitting the back of the car, really fast… please I’m begging you. I’m going to die.”
A scream was heard before the call dropped.
The two men, identified later by their dental records, died after the car split in half and went up in flames after crashing into a tree at the Six Hills junction on Feb. 11, 2022.
Rekhan Karwan, 29, and Raees Jamal, 23, were identified as the drivers of the two vehicles that ran the men off the road. Like TikTok star Mahek and her mom Ansreen they have both been convicted of murder.
Meanwhile, Natasha Akhtar, 23, Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, were each convicted of two counts of manslaughter after they were all found guilty of being involved in the deathly plot.
All of the defendants were inside the two cars at the time they ran Hussain and Ijazuddin off the road.
The jury deliberated for 28 hours before reaching a conviction.
Ijazuddin’s family subsequently released a statement paying tribute to their late son.
“Everyone who knew Hashim loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community,” the family of Ijazuddin, Hussain’s late childhood best friend, said in a statement, per The Independent.
“On that tragic day, he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death. It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age but also in the circumstances in which we lost him.”
Meanwhile, Hussain’s family remembered Hussain as “kind, compassionate, caring and sensible.”
“We are still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of our loss,” they said in a statement. “I never imagined that I would have to bury one of my children, that I would spend every waking moment suddenly expecting him to come back and tell me everything is OK, endlessly searching for his face whenever I am in public even though I know it is impossible.
They added: “This grief of losing Saqib has further been compounded by having to relive the horror of my son’s death over and over again in court.”