TikTok star in court charged with murder of two men who died in alleged high-speed car chase
27 October 2022, 15:38 | Updated: 27 October 2022, 15:52
A TikTok star is in court charged with murdering two cousins who died in a horror car crash earlier this year.
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Mahek Bukhari, 23, has been charged alongside her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 45, and their friend Natasha Akhtar, 22, as well as five other men.
Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, Ameer Jamal, 27, Raees Jamal, 22, Rekan Karwan, 28, and Mohammed Patel, 20, all deny two counts of murder, as do the three women.
All eight defendants also pleaded not guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday.
They are accused of murdering Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, who died in a road traffic collision on February 11 this year.
The two men died instantly when their Skoda Fabia burst into flames after allegedly being run off the road by the defendants on the A46.
The cousins called 999 to tell police they were being pursued during the chase, the court heard.
Bukhari had 126,000 followers on TikTok and 43,000 on Instagram before her arrest, sharing updates on her handbags, clothes and make-up.
Both Bukhari and her mother are from Stoke-on-Trent. Karwan, Patel, Gulammustafa and Ameer Jamal are from Leicester.
Police bodycam shows Jemma Mitchell being arrested for murder
Raees Jamal is from Loughborough in Leicestershire. Akhtar is from Birmingham.
The case, which is expected to last seven weeks, is being presided over by one of the UK's top judges, the Honourable Mr Justice Saini.
