- Ansreen Bukhari and her daughter were jailed for the murder of Saqib Hussain
The father of a 21-year-old who was killed by his lover and her TikTok influencer daughter has spoken out to say he thinks his son was ‘groomed’ by the married mother-of-two.
Ansreen Bukhari, 46, was jailed for plotting to kill Saqib Hussain after he blackmailed her and threatened to expose their three-year affair to her son and husband.
Mrs Bukhari’s influencer daughter Mahek, 24, recruited ‘followers’ to ‘jump’ Mr Hussain, who died alongside his friend Hashim Ijazuddin, 21, in a fireball crash on the A46 near Leicester in 2022.
Mr Hussain’s father Sajad has now spoken out to slam his son’s murderers, claiming that Mrs Bukhari’s ‘fame’ as a result of her daughter’s social media profile meant ‘she thought she was untouchable, above the law.’
He added that Saqib was only around 18 when he first met Mrs Bukhari, who was ‘older than his own mother’, and that his son ‘fully trusted her’.
Sajad and Mohammed Mr Ijazuddin’s father Sikander Hayat have spoken out ahead of appearing in ITV documentary, TikTok: Murder Gone Viral — The Mother & Daughter Killers.
Sajad told The Sun: ‘He was so young. It might not have been illegal, but it was still grooming, I think.. She should have known better.’
In February 2022, Mr Hussain, accompanied by Mr Ijazuddin, was lured to a Tesco car park on the pretence that the mother and daughter were giving him back the £3,000 he said he had spent on Mrs Bukhari during their affair.
But they were ambushed, chased by two cars containing eight people, including Bukhari and her mother, and died in a fireball on the A46 near Leicester.
The mother and daughter both denied two counts of murder and two counts of manslaughter.
They were found guilty of double murder following a three-month trial at Leicester Crown Court in August last year.
Speaking following the sentencing of the two women, the family of Mr Hussain said they were ‘shattered’ by the deaths.
They added that they ‘do not feel that we have received justice as we have now got a life sentence.’
The family of Mr Ijazuddin said at the time that ‘he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death’.
Mr Ijazuddin’s family said after sentencing: ‘The day we found out Hashim had died, our world came crashing down. His death has changed everything.
‘Everyone who knew Hashim, loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community.
‘Hashim was a cheeky young man who was always smiling, a handsome man who was beautiful both on the inside and out. He would do anything for anyone, was very caring and had a very kind heart.
‘Hashim would always put others first and wouldn’t hesitate to help others if they needed it. 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.
‘We will always be extremely proud of Hashim. Whatever he would have done in life, we know he would have excelled in it. Hashim was and will always be our superstar and our one-in-a-million.’
Passing sentence at Leicester Crown Court in September, Judge Timothy Spencer KC jailed ‘self-obsessed’ Bukhari for a minimum of 31 years and eight months and her mother, who appeared in many of her online videos, for at least 26 years and nine months.
The judge pointed to the negative impact of social media in the background to the murders.
Addressing the daughter, he said: ‘Your tawdry fame through your career as an influencer has made you utterly self-obsessed with a wholly unjustified sense of entitlement and no apparent awareness of the impact you have on others, oblivious to the damage you do.
‘That your solution to your mother’s problems was to engage some of your male followers to beat up Saqib Hussain speaks volumes of your warped values and maybe also of the false world of influencing that you so enthusiastically espoused.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
