He is expected to fight his extradition at a court
A fugitive wanted for the murder of a police officer during a botched armed robbery is set to appear in court on January 11, 2021, where the evidence against him is expected to be heard.
PC Sharon Beshenivsky, aged 38, was shot in the chest during a raid at a travel agent in Bradford in November 2005. The bullet went through her stab-proof vest.
She had been responding to a robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street when she was killed.
Six men were imprisoned for her murder, however, the alleged ringleader Piran Ditta Khan fled to Pakistan.
A £20,000 reward was issued by West Yorkshire Police for information leading to his capture.
Detective Superintendent Mark Swift had said:
“We expect many more court appearances as this process progresses and continue to work with colleagues from the National Crime Agency, CPS and the Pakistani Authorities to ensure it is completed as quickly as possible.”
The 72-year-old fugitive was arrested in January and has been in custody since then.
He is expected to fight his extradition at a court in Islamabad.
His lawyer, Tanveer Iqbal, told the Mirror: “Mr Khan is due to appear in court when we are expecting to hear the evidence against him as provided by the requesting authority.
“A prima face case must be shown for the extradition to go ahead. Our case is that the allegations are false.”
Mr Iqbal stated that the judge could make a ruling on the case in the coming months. However, he pointed out that the case has seen several adjournments in the past.
Khan had been using a fake identity and swapping homes regularly for over 10 years while he was wanted over the shooting of PC Beshenivksy.
After his arrest in 2020, he appeared in court for an extradition hearing and maintained his innocence.
The mother-of-five had been a police officer for just nine months when she was shot in the chest on daughter Lydia’s fourth birthday.
The bullet tore hit a rib, punctured her aorta artery and damaged her spine, causing her chest to fill with blood.
Her partner, PC Teresa Milburn, was also shot but survived.
PC Beshenivsky’s husband Paul, who has since remarried, said in 2020:
“At last they’ve got him. It will give me a bit of closure.”
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