Sharon Beshenivsky: PC killer should get life sentence, court says

The ringleader of an armed robbery in which a policeman was killed almost 20 years ago should be given a life ban, a court heard.

Piran Ditta Khan, 75, was found guilty of murder last month for his role in the 2005 murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford.

He spent almost two decades evading justice after fleeing to Pakistan shortly after the officer’s murder.

Khan is due to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court later.

At the end of his trial, Khan was also found guilty of two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon.

He is the last of seven men involved in the November 18, 2005 Universal Express travel agency robbery and murder to be convicted.

Before Khan was sentenced, Robert Smith, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court on Friday that the combination of his convictions was “exceptionally high” and he should be given a life sentence.

Mr Smith said the fact that Khan was involved in the planning and preparation of the robbery “significantly sets him apart from his co-defendants”.

However, Peter Wright, defending, said a lifetime order was “the last resort for the most extreme cases” and that he believed the minimum term would be most likely.

Mr Wright added that Khan “appreciates that his final years are likely to be spent in custody, with the forbidding prospect of him dying there”.

“No doubt there will be little or no public sympathy for such a state of affairs, nor do I look for it, but it is a factor which I invite my Lordship to consider when I arrive at the proper order for this case “, he said. the judge.

PC Beshenivsky was shot at close range when he arrived at the scene of the travel agency robbery.

She lay on the pavement, her injuries instantly fatal.

The officer’s colleague, Teresa Milburn, then 37, was also shot and seriously injured at the same time, although she survived the attack.

In the huge manhunt that followed, the gang, whose members got away with just over £5,000, were eventually caught.

Six people were later convicted of charges including murder and manslaughter, with Khan the seventh.

During the eight-week trial, jurors were told that Khan was the mastermind behind the robbery and played a “pivotal role in planning the raid and giving instructions to others”.

Khan told the court he was waiting in a car and “eating sandwiches” with Hassan Razzaq while the raid was taking place.

Razzaq and his brother Faisal Razzaq were later found guilty of manslaughter, robbery and firearms offences. Raza Ul-Haq Aslam was convicted of robbery.

Muzzaker Shah and brothers Yusuf Jama and Mustaf Jama – the three gunmen who boarded the Universal Express – were convicted of murder, robbery and firearms offences.

PC Beshenivsky was killed on the fourth birthday of his youngest daughter, Lydia.

In an impact statement read to the court, Lydia said: “I have few memories of her growing up and have had to rely on my mum’s friends and family telling me about her and the things she liked to do.

“I often think he was a hero that day and paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Her statement added: “Since that day and throughout my life, there has always been a void – a void that should have been filled by my mother’s presence.

“But as a result of your actions – Khan and your associates that day – you robbed me of a future and precious time with my mother.”