Mastermind behind armed robbery in which police officer was murdered jailed for at least 40 years

The mastermind of an armed robbery in which PC Sharon Beshenivsky was shot dead in 2005 has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years.

Piran Ditta Khan, 75, was last month found guilty of murdering the West Yorkshire Police officer, who was shot at point-blank range at Universal Express travel agent in Morley Street, Bradford.

Prosecutors said that although Khan was not one of the three smartly dressed men who carried out the raid, he had played a “pivotal” role and was guilty of murder “as surely as if he pulled the trigger on that pistol himself”.

PC Beshenivsky, 38 – who had only been a police officer for nine months – and colleague PC Teresa Milburn, then 37, were both unarmed when they responded to an alarm call and were shot in the chest on 18 November 2005.

PC Beshenivsky collapsed to the floor with an immediately fatal injury, while PC Milburn survived after radioing for help while she was on the pavement coughing up blood.

Khan fled to Pakistan three months after the shooting and evaded arrest until he was detained by Pakistani authorities in 2020 and extradited to the UK last year.

He pleaded guilty to robbery and was found guilty of murder, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, after a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years today, telling Khan he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

“You intended that the weapons should be used to kill if necessary to do so,” the judge said, adding that he was part of a “planned enterprise” and shared “murderous intent”.

Khan, wearing a blue tracksuit and listening to his interpreter, had his head down as he was sentenced.

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Khan is the last of the seven men involved in the raid to be tried – Mustaf Jama, Yusuf Jama and Muzzaker Shah are serving life sentences with minimum 35-year terms after being found guilty of murder, robbery and firearms offences in 2006 and 2007.

‘A hero who paid the ultimate sacrifice’

PC Beshenivsky had three children and was stepmother to her husband Paul Beshenivsky’s two children from a previous relationship. Her widow and children watched as Khan was sentenced.

The court heard she was nearing the end of her shift and talked about how she was looking forward to her youngest daughter Lydia’s fourth birthday party moments before volunteering for the fatal call.

In a victim personal statement read at court, Lydia praised her mother as “a hero who paid the ultimate sacrifice”.

Lydia said she was “too young and innocent” to understand what happened and was told she “screamed her head off” after being told that her mother had died, although she has no memory of it.

She said she was proud of her mother for “doing the job she loved”, adding: “There will always be a void in my life – a void that should have been filled with my mum’s presence but as a result of violent, callous actions by you, Piran Ditta Khan, and your associates that day, you robbed me of a future and precious time with my mum.

“Every birthday is a reminder of what happened that day. It has recently been Mother’s Day, and while my friends are celebrating with their mums, I sadly can never do that.”

Paul Beshenivsky, who had been married to Pc Beshenivsky for four years when she died, said telling the children what had happened was “the hardest thing I have ever had to do”.

His statement read: “The way we lost Sharon was in the most brutal, callous and futile way.

“She never came home due to the actions and organisation of one person – Piran Ditta Khan.

“If Piran Ditta Khan had never organised the robbery, Sharon would never have been shot dead and she would have come home that day.”

Botched robbery

He was the only member of the group who was familiar with the travel agency and had previously used them to send money to family in Pakistan, the court heard.

At his trial, Khan told the jury the owner owed him £12,000 and thought the men sent to recover the money would only “intimidate” the staff.

Three men went into the travel agency, posing as customers before jumping over the counter and demanding money.

They struck several staff members with their weapons, tied their hands and threatened to “shoot the youngest” if they were not given cash.

The men initially demanded £100,000 before stating they wouldn’t leave without £50,000 and the business owner’s son managed to press an alarm which alerted police.

When PC Beshenivsky and PC Milburn arrived on the scene, the robbers shouted “the feds are here” and fled with around £5,400 after one of them gunned down the officers.

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The court heard Khan, who had told his accomplices they would make between £50,000 to £100,000, did not leave the safety of the Mercedes SLK used as the lookout car.

PC Milburn said in a statement she and her colleague “didn’t have a chance” and described PC Beshenivsky “stopping in terror” as she approached the door of Universal Express and saw the gunman.

She was the seventh serving female officer ever to be killed in the line of duty in Britain and left behind her husband Paul, three children and two stepchildren.

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