Man, 74, extradited from Pakistan and charged with murder of police officer Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford
- Piran Ditta Khan, 74, was first arrested by Pakistani Police in January 2020
- He is charged with the murder of Sharon Beshenivsky 18 years ago in Bradford
- PC Beshenivsky and another officer were responding to reports of a robbery
A man extradited from Pakistan has been charged with six offences including the murder of police officer Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, in Bradford in 2005.
Piran Ditta Khan, 74, was first arrested by Pakistani Police in January 2020.
Earlier today he was brought back to a police station in West Yorkshire and formally charged with the offences.
He was charged with murder, robbery, two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon.
Khan has been remanded into custody to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.
PC Beshenivsky was shot while responding to a robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street, Bradford, on November 18 2005
Pakistani police officers escort to Piran Ditta Khan (right) following a court appearance in 2020
PC Teresa Milburn (pictured at the funeral of PC Beshenivsky) was also shot but survived to testify against the gang members
He had previously fought his extradition to the UK.
PC Beshenivsky was shot while responding to a robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street, Bradford, on November 18 2005.
The married mother-of-three, with two stepchildren, was a probationer with only nine months’ service when she was killed.
During the robbery, a bullet hit PC Beshenivsky’s rib, punctured her aorta and damaged her spine – ultimately killing her.
Her colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, was also shot but survived to later give evidence at the trial of members of the armed gang who were charged with being involved in the murder.
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.
Officers are pictured patrolling floral tributes laid where PC Sharon Beshenivsky was gunned down in Bradford in 2005
Forensic investigators are pictured at the scene of PC Beshenivsky’s murder in Bradford in 2005
Six men were later jailed at Newcastle Crown Court but Khan, a former bouncer who was suspected of being the gang organiser, had fled abroad.
He has previously denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters in Pakistan: ‘I can’t really apologise because I haven’t done anything wrong.’
In 2016, West Yorkshire Police issued a fresh appeal to find him as he remained at large, despite a £20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said that the charges against Khan were authorised in 2006, leading to the issuing of the extradition warrant.
Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, said: ‘A suspect wanted in connection with the murder of Pc Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford in 2005 has been extradited to the UK from Pakistan thanks to the continued hard work of prosecutors in the CPS’s extradition and international units.
‘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’.
