A 74-year-old man, Piran Ditta Khan, a former Bradford mill worker, has appeared in court accused of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky in November, 2005. He was recently extradited from Pakistan after being arrested in January, 2020.
38-year-old PC Beshenivsky had been a warranted police officer for only nine months when she was shot dead in Morley Street, Bradford. She had previously served in West Yorkshire Police as a Community Support Officer.
Khan appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in Central London on Thursday 13th April, 2023 wearing a blue and white tracksuit jacket.
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.
Khan spoke in court only to confirm his name and heard that his case would be sent to the Old Bailey for a plea and case management hearing on 17th April, 2023. He was remanded in custody by District Judge John Zani who told him:
“All the allegations that you face are to be dealt with at a higher court, the Crown Court, so I am transferring this case to the Central Criminal Court in London and you will appear there on Monday.”
PC Beshenivsky, a mother of three and two stepmother to two other children, was shot dead as she and her shift partner, PC Teresa Milburn, responded to an incident alarm at a travel agency in Bradford, on 18 November 2005. PC Milburn was also seriously injured but survived the shooting.
Khan is charged with robbery of a quantity of cash from Mohammed Yousaf, the owner of the travel agency, Universal Express.
He is also accused of possessing a MAC-10 machine gun, which it is alleged had been modified to fire in a burst with one pull of the trigger, and a 9mm handgun.
Three men were found guilty of murdering PC Beshenivsky in 2007, along with another two who were convicted of manslaughter and a sixth man was found guilty of robbery.
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Page last updated: Wednesday 5th April, 2023 at 1835 hours
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