Justice in killing of PC worth long wait
NEARLY 20 years after the appalling murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford in 2005, the ringleader of an armed robbery gang has been sent to prison for the rest of his miserable life. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for the family of the 38-year-old officer whose bravery, like all blue-light workers, saw her running into danger, rather than away, but I hope the jailing of Piran Ditta Khan will give them some small comfort.
Jailed for a minimum of 40 years, and the last of seven men involved in the robbery and murder at the Universal Express travel agents in November 2005 to be sentenced, he will almost certainly die behind bars, given he is 75. And deservedly so. Khan may not have fired the fatal shots, but he planned and led the fatal robbery that also left PC Teresa Milburn injured when the officers were sprayed with bullets from a lethal MAC-10 submachine gun.
Having spent nearly two decades on the run after fleeing to Pakistan shortly after the officer’s murder, he was finally arrested by the Pakistani authorities in January 2020 and extradited to the UK last year.
PC Beshenivsky’s husband Paul, 61, and two of their children Lydia, 22, and Paul, 25, were in court to hear the sentencing. In an impact statement, Lydia told the court she considers her mother a “hero” who “paid the ultimate sacrifice”.
Too right. Which is why this sentencing was so important.
The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, might have rejected calls for a whole life order, but as he put it, Khan’s age meant he would never be released anyway.
He has sent the sort of message the justice system should be sending: mess with us and you’re going down… for a very long time.