Four people given life sentences for the “callous and cold-blooded” murder of two Banbury men

Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, died instantly when their vehicle was rammed off the A46 near Six Hills, Leicestershire, during the early hours of February 11 last year crashing into a central reservation barrier and a tree.

Mr Hussain, who was a passenger in the car, had made a 999 call just seconds earlier stating they were being chased by people in balaclavas, being rammed off the road and that they were going to die.

Last month, following a 15-week trial at Leicester Crown Court, Ansreen Bukhari, Mahek Bukhari, Raees Jamal and Rekan Karwan were all found guilty of the murders of Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin.

Sanaf Gulamustafa, Ameer Jamal and Natasha Akhtar were found not guilty of murder but were found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin.

Today (Friday), at the same court, the defendants were sentenced.

Mahek Bukhari, 24, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 31 years and eight months.

Raees Jamal, 23, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 31 years. This minimum term was increased to 36 years and 45 days as he is currently serving a jail sentence after being convicted of rape in relation to a separate investigation.

Rekan Karwan, 29, of Tomlin Road, Leicester, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 26 years and 10 months

Ansreen Bukhari, 46, of George Eardley Close, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 26 years and nine months.

Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, of Littlemore Close, Leicester, was sentenced to 14 years and nine months imprisonment.

Ameer Jamal, 28, of Catherine Street, Leicester, was sentenced to 14 years and eight months imprisonment.

Natasha Akhtar, 23, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months imprisonment.

An eighth defendant was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter following the trial.

Following sentencing HHJ Spencer KC described the police investigation as "exemplary" and gave formal judicial commendations to officers in the investigation team.

Enquiries carried out during the murder investigation showed Mr Hussain had been in relationship with Ansreen Bukhari for around three years. After Ansreen Bukhari, who was married, tried to end the affair, Mr Hussain made threats to expose the relationship to her husband and to share sexual images and videos of Ansreen Bukhari.

Ansreen Bukhari had offered to pay back money which Mr Hussain had spent during the relationship and it was arranged for Mr Hussain to meet with Ansreen Bukhari and her daughter Mahek Bukhari, who knew about the affair. However, Ansreen and Mahek Bukhari arrived at the arranged meet-up in the Tesco car park in Hamilton, Leicester, along with the six other defendants. The eight defendants were in two vehicles – an Audi TT and a Seat Leon.

Mr Hussain then arrived at the car park in a Skoda Fabia, being driven by his friend Mr Ijuzaddin, who had said he would take him and was not involved with the dispute.

CCTV footage showed the Skoda Fabia arrive in the car park and then immediately leave. The Audi TT and Seat Leon followed the Skoda out of the car park two minutes later. The cars then ultimately ended up in a chase before the 999 call was made by Mr Hussain. The collision itself was not captured on CCTV.

Enquiries carried out by a force forensic collision investigator showed the Audi TT reached speeds of up to 100mph during the chase. The speed of the Skoda at the time of the collision was estimated at being in excess of 80mph. Damage found on the front of the Seat Leon was found to be consistent with colliding with the rear of the Skoda Fabia. The impact of the collision was found to have caused the Skoda to split into two and the engine of the car to detach from the body. Both victims died immediately from multiple injuries, prior to the fire taking hold.

Both the Audi TT and the Seat Leon were found to have driven past the crashed vehicle before later driving back past the collision site. None of the defendants called 999.

Ansreen Bukhari, Mahek Bukhari and Akhtar were arrested during the same morning of the collision with Raees Jamal and Karwan being arrested three days later. Ameer Jamal and Gulamustafa were arrested in March.

Senior Investigating Officer in the case, Detective Inspector Mark Parish said: “This was a callous and cold-blooded attack which ultimately cost two men their lives.

“My thoughts at this time remain with Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin and their families. The past 16 months has been an extremely difficult and heart-breaking time for both families. They have not only had to come to terms with losing a family member in the most horrific way but have then had to hear extremely distressing details of this in court, waiting for justice to be done. My heartfelt thanks go to them for their bravery, support and co-operation throughout this time.

“This investigation was an extremely complex case which involved officers from across different forces working together to ensure quick action was taken, that the full facts were established and that those responsible were quickly brought into custody. Thank you to every officer and staff member that has been involved in this investigation from the initial response to the investigation and court hearing."