Man, 75, accused of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky goes on trial

A man has gone on trial accused of having a pivotal role in the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford in 2005.

Piran Ditta Khan, 75, organised the armed robbery of a travel agents that led to the shooting of the 38-year-old officer and her colleague PC Teresa Milburn, a court was told on Tuesday.

Robert Smith KC, prosecuting, told the jury at Leeds crown court that seven men were involved in the crime and had all been convicted “with one exception … His name, as you have heard, is Piran Ditta Khan”.

Smith said Khan had evaded arrest by fleeing to Islamabad, in Pakistan, shortly after the murder in November 2005. He was eventually tracked down by police and extradited back to the UK in April last year, the court was told.

Khan listened to the proceedings with the help of an interpreter as the prosecutor outlined the case on Tuesday.

Smith said Beshenivsky and Milburn were shot at “almost point-blank range” by one of three men during the robbery of Universal Express travel agents, on Morley Street, on the afternoon of 18 November 2005.

Beshenivsky died from her injuries on the pavement outside the premises, the prosecutor said, while Milburn survived despite serious injuries.

“Neither officer was armed and neither presented any effective threat to these three men,” Smith said.

The jury was told that Khan was the only one of the seven robbers who knew Bradford and Universal Express travel agents. Smith said Khan knew that “substantial amounts” of cash were held at the premises as he had previously used its services to send money to Pakistan.

Khan, who was living in Ilford, east London, at the time of the robbery, was also aware of the security arrangements at the business, jurors were told.

Smith said: “The defendant is not one of the men who physically carried out the robbery and was not one of the three men responsible for the act of shooting PC Beshenivsky and PC Milburn.

“The defendant in fact did not leave the safety of the Mercedes SLK at any time in the robbery and he remained a distance from the premises. But his role in these offences was pivotal and the part he played was such that the prosecution contend that he is also responsible for the murder of PC Beshenivsky.”

Khan denies murder and four firearms offences, including possessing a Mac-10 submachine gun and a 9mm pistol. The trial continues.