Man accused of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky appears in London court

Man, 74, accused of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky 18 years ago appears in London court after his extradition from Pakistan

• Piran Ditta Khan, 74, is charged with the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 38 
• He is also charged with robbery and possession of firearms, prohibited weapons

A pensioner accused of shooting dead a policewoman 18 years ago appeared in court today following his extradition from Pakistan.

Piran Ditta Khan, 74, is charged with the murder of rookie officer PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, who was killed during an armed robbery in West Yorkshire in 2005.

He is also charged with robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

He appeared in the dock of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London today and was remanded in custody until his next scheduled court appearance at the Old Bailey on Monday when he will be produced in person. 

Piran Ditta Khan, 74, appeared in the dock of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London today, as show in the court sketch above

He is charged with the murder of rookie officer PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, (pictured) who was killed during an armed robbery in West Yorkshire in 2005

Mother-of-three PC Beshenivsky was just nine months into her role as an officer when she was gunned down after responding with a colleague to reports of an armed robbery at a travel agents in Bradford in November 2005.

Her colleague, PC Teresa Millburn, was also seriously injured after attending the robbery but survived.

Dennis Barry, prosecuting, told the court today that all the charges against Khan related to the November 2005 robbery.

He said: ‘The defendant has been brought to this court, extradited from Pakistan.

‘He will face an indictment with six counts, including that on November 18, 2005, he murdered PC Beshenivsky.

‘A warrant for his arrest was issued in 2018 and he was arrested in 2020.

‘It is very likely that an application will be made by the Crown for this case to be tried at Leeds Crown Court.’

Mr Barry explained that as well as one murder and one armed robbery charge, there were four firearm charges relating to Khan’s possession of a ‘MAC-10 submachine gun’ and a ‘9mm pistol’.

He continued: ‘As you may already know, other defendants were tried at Newcastle Crown Court and were convicted of murder, manslaughter and various other offences.’

Pakistani police officers escort Piran Ditta Khan (centre) following his court appearance in Islamabad, Pakistan in January 2020

Khan, with grey hair and stubble and wearing a black sports jacket and who walked with a pronounced limp, spoke during the hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court this morning to confirm his name and date of birth.

The defendant appeared to have difficulty hearing, asking for a question to be repeated.

Sending the case to the Old Bailey, District Judge John Zani told Khan: ‘All of these allegations have to be detailed at the higher court.

‘So, I am transferring this case to the Central Criminal Court here in London. You will appear on Monday.

‘I will endeavour to direct that [Khan] be produced on Monday in person.’

Khan’s representative, Raja Afzal, said he had had little time with his client on the morning of the hearing, and requested that Monday’s hearing be held in the afternoon, if possible.

No application for bail was made by Mr Afzal.

Forensic investigators are pictured at the scene of PC Beshenivsky’s murder in Bradford in 2005

Officers are pictured patrolling floral tributes laid where PC Sharon Beshenivsky was gunned down in Bradford in 2005

PC Teresa Milburn (pictured at the funeral of PC Beshenivsky) was also shot but survived to testify against the gang members

PC Beshenivsky was shot while responding to a robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street, Bradford, on November 18 2005.

On the day of her death, the Beshenivsky family were due to hold a birthday party for their youngest daughter Lydia at their home near Haworth, West Yorkshire.

PC Beshenivsky had wrapped the presents and even baked a cake for the occasion.

But as she neared the end of her shift that afternoon, she was called out to a robbery by a seven-strong gang at the travel agency.

During the robbery, a bullet hit PC Beshenivsky’s rib, punctured her aorta and damaged her spine – ultimately killing her. At the time of her death, she had been a probationer. 

Six men were later jailed at Newcastle Crown Court but Khan, a former bouncer who was suspected of being involved in the attack, had gone abroad.

He has previously denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters in Pakistan: ‘I can’t really apologise because I haven’t done anything wrong.’ 

The charges against Khan were authorised in 2006, leading to the issuing of the extradition warrant.

Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said yesterday: ‘Since Piran Ditta Khan was arrested in Pakistan in 2020, our specialist prosecutors have been working closely with our Pakistani partners to complete the legal process in the country so that he could be extradited back to England to face the allegations from almost 20 years ago.’

West Yorkshire Police said they were grateful to the National Crime Agency, the Pakistani Authorities and the CPS for their ‘invaluable assistance in this matter’.

Timeline of the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky

18 November 2005: PC Sharon Beshenivsky was killed after and her colleague PC Theresa Milburn was seriously injured after they were shot at during an armed robbery at Universal Travel in Bradford. 

25 November 2005: Police named brothers Mustaf Jama, 25, and Yusaf Jama, 19, as well as 24-year-old Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah as suspects in the case. 

12 December 2005: Shah was arrested in Newport, South Wales. 

13 December 2005: Yusaf Jama was arrested in Birmingham. 

18 December 2006: Yusuf Jama and Muzzaker Shah were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years. 

A third man, Faisal Razzaq, a 25-year-old from London, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 11 years.

2 March 2007: A fourth man, Hassan Razzaq, the 26-year-old brother of Faisal was also convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

Raza Ul-Haq Aslam was sentenced to eight years in prison for robbery.   

1 November 2007: Mustaf Jama was extradited from Somalia after a Home Office investigation connected him to the robbery. 

2 November 2007: Jama was charged with PC Beshenivsky’s murder

Hewan Gordon was jailed for 18 months for helping Shah evade capture 

22 July 2009: Mustaf Jama was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 35 years behind bars.  

2014: Police renew their appeal to find Piran Ditta Khan, who they believed was involved in the robbery and had gone to Pakistan after the crime. 

January 14 2020: Police arrest Khan in Pakistan after an investigation by the National Crime Agency. 

April 12 2023: Khan arrives in the UK after a lengthy extradition battle and is charged with six offences including the murder of PC Beshenivsky.

April 13 2023: Khan appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and is charged with Beshenivsky’s murder, robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

April 17 2023: Khan is scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey.

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