Man jailed for PC murder died of cancer - inquest

A man who was jailed for the murder of a police officer during an armed robbery died in prison from lung cancer less than a year after he was sentenced, an inquest heard.

Piran Ditta Khan, 76, died on 21 February at Wakefield Prison after he was sentenced for his role in the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in 2005.

He was the mastermind behind the robbery at Universal Express travel agents in Bradford and had spent nearly 15 years evading justice.

Opening the inquest at Wakefield Coroner's Court earlier, assistant coroner John Hobson said Khan's cause of death was bronchial pneumonia, caused by "multiple cerebral infarctions" associated with cancer of the right lung.

Mr Hobson said Khan had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in June 2024 and was receiving chemotherapy.

On February 3 he was taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield as he had the symptoms of a stroke and doctors discovered his cancer had spread to his brain.

Khan stayed in hospital for eight days before he was transferred to the medical wing of the prison and he received palliative care until his death.

Mr Hobson added on Wednesday that a full inquest would take place at a date to be fixed.

PC Beshenivsky had been attending reports of an armed robbery on 18 November 2005, the day of her daughter's fourth birthday, along with her colleague PC Teresa Milburn.

They were both unarmed and were shot at point-blank range by one of the three men who had carried out the raid.

Khan fled to Pakistan following the robbery and remained on the run until he was arrested by Pakistani authorities in January 2020.

He was then extradited to the UK in 2023 and in the following April, he became the last of the seven men involved in the robbery to be convicted.

He was found guilty of murdering PC Beshenivsky, as well as two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, at Leeds Crown Court.

In May 2024, Mr Justice Hilliard jailed Khan for life with a minimum term of 40 years.

During his trial, jurors heard Khan was the only one of the group who was familiar with Universal Express and had used it in the past to send money to family in Pakistan.

When sentencing him, Mr Justice Hilliard said Khan had a number of health ailments, including heart disease and back trouble, adding his "physical condition will make custody hard to serve".

In a statement read out to the court at the time, Paul Beshenivsky, who had been married to PC Beshenivsky for four years when she died, said she had been taken "in the most brutal, callous and futile way".

"She never came home due to the actions and organisation of one person - Piran Ditta Khan," he said.

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