THE Mastermind behind PC Sharon Beshenivsky’s murder has died behind bars just months after finally being caged.
Piran Ditta Khan, 76, planned an armed robbery in which PC Beshenivsky was shot to death in Bradford on 18 November 2005.
PAPiran Ditta Khan, 76, died in prison this morning[/caption]
PAHe was convicted of killing Pc Sharon Beshenivsky on November 18, in 2005[/caption]
After nearly 20 years on the run, the gang boss was extradited from Pakistan in 2023.
The monster was convicted of murder in May 2024 at Leeds Crown Court and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years behind bars.
The Prison Service confirmed the killer was discovered dead by staff at HMP Wakefield this morning.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “HMP Wakefield prisoner Piran Ditta Khan died on Friday 21 February.
“As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
As reported by the Mail, the 76-year-old was being treated for a “terminal illness” with round the clock care.
There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
PC Beshenivsky, 38, was gunned down while responding to an armed robbery at a travel agents in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 2005.
Her colleague PC Teresa Milburn, who was 37 at the time, was left seriously injured after the shooter opened fire “indiscriminately” as he fled the scene.
Piran Ditta Khan, who planned the robbery, 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.
Sentencing Khan last year, Mr Justice Hilliard told him: “You will inevitably spend the remainder of your life in custody, but that is a consequence of sentencing a man of your age for a crime of this particular gravity.
“You are responsible for the fact that you are being sentenced at the age of 75 and not at a younger age.
“You have had your younger and healthier years at liberty because you chose to leave the country when you feared you were about to be arrested.”
Khan is the seventh man to be convicted guilty over the botched robbery, which saw the gang flee with just £5,000.
At the time, PC Beshenivsky was only the second policewoman to be killed on duty in the UK.
She had tragically been preparing to head home for her daughter Lydia’s fourth birthday party when she received the fatal call.
In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Lydia said she had a vague memory of a car showing up that night and thinking it was her mum returning.
and innocent” to understand at the time.
Lydia told Leeds Crown Court she “screamed her head off” after being told that her mum had died, but has no memory of it.
She added: “I remember asking when my mum was coming home and being confused about why she wasn’t coming home to see us,” she said.
“I have little to no memory of my mum. Growing up, I had to rely on my mum’s friends telling me about her and the things she liked to do.
“Even now I have to look at photos to remind me of my mum.”
Lydia also said she was proud of her mum for “doing the job she loved” and branded her a “hero who paid the ultimate sacrifice”.
She added: “There will always be a void in my life – a void that should have been filled with my mum’s presence but as a result of violent, callous actions by you, Piran Ditta Khan, and your associates that day, you robbed me of a future and precious time with my mum.
“Every birthday is a reminder of what happened that day. It has recently been Mother’s Day, and while my friends are celebrating with their mums, I sadly can never do that.”
PC Beshenivsky’s husband Paul said telling the children what had happened was “the hardest thing I have ever had to do”.
He added: “The way we lost Sharon was in the most brutal, callous and futile way.
“She never came home due to the actions and organisation of one person – Piran Ditta Khan.
“If Piran Ditta Khan had never organised the robbery, Sharon would never have been shot dead and she would have come home that day.”
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