Pakistani man extradited from UK over policewoman’s murder 17 years ago

Authorities in the UK have extradited a 74-year-old man from Pakistan in connection with the murder of a policewoman in northern England over 17 years ago.

Piran Ditta Khan was extradited from Pakistan on Tuesday and after arriving in the UK was taken into custody at a West Yorkshire police station, where he was formally charged with the murder of Police Constable (PC) Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford on November 18, 2005.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it submitted an extradition warrant and authorised charges in 2006 against Khan for offences covering murder, robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

"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’ Extradition and International Units,” said Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS.

“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,” she said.

PC Beshenivsky was gunned down while responding to a robbery at a travel agent in Bradford in November 2005.

Five men have been convicted in relation to her murder over the years.

Khan was arrested by Pakistani authorities in January 2020 and will now stand trial for murder after appearing before Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London this week.

The CPS pointed out that now that criminal proceedings against Khan are live, there will be reporting restrictions in place in order to ensure a fair trial without prejudicing the court proceedings.

The extradition was the result of collaborative work between the CPS, Pakistani authorities, West Yorkshire Police and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), it added.