A popular influencer, with 126,000 TikTok followers and 43,000 Instagram followers, was charged with the murder of two young men, associated with an affair her mother was allegedly engaged in. The alleged murder was an attempt to keep the relationship between her mother and one of the men a secret.
Mahek Bukhari, 22, known as “Maya” on social media, was known for her posts about hair, fashion and cosmetics.
The 22-year-old Mahek Bukhari, her 45-year-old mother Ansreen Bukhari, and six other people were charged in the murder of Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, 21, and Saqib Hussain, 21. The group was accused of running the two men off the road in Leicester, United Kingdom, earlier this February, causing an accident that led to the deaths of both young men.
Bukhari and her mom posted many social media videos together and they were “besties.”
Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain died after their car rammed into a tree just after midnight on February 11 and burst into flames.
Prior to the crash, Hussain called the police emergency number for help – 999 – and told operators that the car he was in was being rammed and threatened by two cars with people who were hiding behind balaclavas covering their faces.
In the courtroom in Leicester, prosecutors replayed the 999 calls and court attendees could hear Hussain’s begging cries for help.
The last thing he said was, “Oh my God,” then he screamed and a massive bang followed before the call dropped. Police showed footage that showed the car engulfed in flames.
The two men from Banbury, Oxfordshire were good friends and had known each other for most of their lives. Ijazuddin, the car’s owner, had agreed to give Hussain a lift to Leicester that night, but it was an unfortunate gesture that cost him his life.
During police investigations, Hussain’s family revealed that he had been involved in a romantic affair with the 45-year-old Bukhari for three years while she was still married.
During their affair, Hussain had recorded sexually explicit material, including photos and videos of him and Bukhari together. Bukhari tried to break up with him in January, but he became obsessed and kept calling her and begging her to take him back.
Bukhari stopped answering his calls, which angered him, and he started threatening to tell her husband about the affair and blackmailing her.
The prosecution alleges that the mother confided about the situation to her daughter, which led to them and six others allegedly planning the crash.
The prosecutor said that the tragic incident was a deliberate murder. He told the court that the group had lured the two victims to a car park before they attacked them.
According to the prosecution, the defendants lied repeatedly in their testimonies and tried to concoct a story to cover up their involvement in the murder of the two men.
Both the younger Bukhari and her mother have denied any involvement in the murders.
