- A TikToker named Mahek Bukhari and her mother, Ansreen, have been sentenced to life in prison.
- They were convicted over the double murder of Ansreen's former lover Saqib Hussain and his friend.
A 23-year-old TikToker and her mother have been sentenced to life in prison for double murder after they were convicted of orchestrating the killings of two men during a high-speed car chase in an attempt to hide an affair.
Saqib Hussain and his friend Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, were pursued by two people, identified as Rekan Karwan and Raees Jamal, in a high-speed car chase on February 11, 2022, that resulted in their deaths.
The prosecution argued that the two men had been "lured" to meet Mahek Bukhari and her 46-year-old mother, Ansreen Bukhari, in a grocery store's parking lot in Leicester, England, after Hussain had threatened to expose his affair with Ansreen Bukhari when she ended their relationship, the BBC reported. They were said to be meeting on the pretense that Hussain would be given back the £3,000, or about $3,790 at today's exchange rate, that he spent during the affair.
Right before he died, Hussain called the police to report that he was being "rammed off" the road by people wearing balaclavas in two pursuing cars, the BBC reported. During the call, which was replayed at the trial, Hussain said, "They're trying to kill me — I'm going to die," adding: "Please, sir, I just need help."
"They're hitting the back of the car, really fast," he also said, again adding: "Please I'm begging you. I'm going to die." He then screamed and the call abruptly ended, per the outlet.
Hussain and Ijazuddin died after the car was forced off the road, according to the prosecution.
On September 1, Mahek Bukhari was sentenced to a minimum of 31 years and eight months in prison and Ansreen Bukhari was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years and nine months. The two drivers were also found guilty of murder — Karwan was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years and 10 months, while Jamal, who is already serving a rape sentence, was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years and 45 days. Three others were also found to be guilty of manslaughter.
Mahek Bukhari's lawyer Christopher Millington says she'll be requesting permission from the judge to appeal the conviction, according to the local outlet Leicestershire Live.
The judge said 'TikTok and Instagram lie at the heart of the case'
Judge Timothy Spencer said, "TikTok and Instagram lie at the heart of this case — you, Mahek Bukhari, being an influencer on both platforms.
"That's why you dropped out of university — had you not done so you would have been a graduate with your whole life in front of you."
He also said he regarded Mahek Bukhari as "immature below your years" and said, "Your fame through your career as an influencer has made you utterly self-obsessed with a wholly unjust sense of self-entitledness."
Mahek Bukhari gained popularity through posting videos on her TikTok account, @maybvlogs. She has more than 136,000 followers and 3.4 million likes on her videos. Her mother occasionally appeared in her content.
"So blessed to have her in my life, my mother, best friend and sister all in one," Mahek Bukhari wrote in the description of one video, which showed the two women dancing along to a song. In the video caption, she wrote that she and her mother had an "elite relationship."
@maybvlogs so blessed to have her in my life, my mother, best friend and sister all in one #fyp #foryou #relatable #maybvlogs #relationship #mum #viral #crazy ♬ original sound - Racheltonga
Mahek Bukhari has not posted a video on the account since February 2022.