COP KILLERS’ RINGLEADER FOUND GUILTY
Thug lived life of luxury in Pakistan
THE family of murdered PC Sharon Beshenivsky finally received justice yesterday as they saw her killers’ boss convicted.
Piran Ditta Khan, 75, a former Aberdeen restaurant owner, was found guilty after nearly 18 years on the run abroad.
He led the gang who shot Sharon dead in a robbery at a Bradford travel agent.
Andy Brennan, the retired detecive who led the original hunt, said after Khan was convicted of murder: “This is justice for Sharon. The family will have been to hell and back.
“It’s difficult to imagine the pain and torment they have been through.”
The retired detective added: “I only hope this verdict gives a little bit of comfort to them.”
He added he is “so pleased” the promise he made to PC Beshenivsky’s husband Paul at the time of the killing has now been honoured with Khan’s conviction yesterday.
Mum-of-three PC Beshenivsky, 38, was killed and colleague Teresa Milburn was wounded in November 2005.
Khan, who said he had sat nearby in a Mercedes SLK eating sandwiches, is the seventh person to face justice.
The ringleader fled to Pakistan months later. He was arrested there in 2020 and was extradited to the UK last April.
He was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. He had admitted robbery at a previous hearing.
Det Supt Marc Bowes said outside Leeds Crown Court: “Sharon and Teresa went to work that day expecting to come home... But due to the horrific actions of those who have now been convicted for those offences, that wasn’t the case.”
He praised the bravery of the PC’s family, adding: “I hope today’s convictions go some way in enabling them to move on with their lives.”
PC Beshenivsky had been an officer for nine months when she and colleague Teresa, then 37, answered a call after a secret alarm was activated at Universal Express travel agents.
Moments after arriving, they were shot by a robber at point blank range.
Khan claimed the motive was that the business owner, Mohammad Yousaf, owed him £12,000.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
Khan is believed to have lived in Aberdeen from the early 80s, working in a restaurant on Union Street. He is said to have opened a restaurant of his own but left the city after it burned down in 1998.
Khan planned to open a takeaway and travelled to Scotland to meet the architect. But he fled to Pakistan as the net started to close and police arrested other members of his gang.
He faked his own death and on at least two occasions British police received “intelligence” claiming he had died.
But in fact he was living a millionaire’s lifestyle after setting up as a property developer.