Coroner finds PC Sharon Beshenivsky’s murderer died naturally in prison
A coroner has ruled that Piran Ditta Khan, the gang leader convicted of murdering West Yorkshire PC Sharon Beshenivsky, died of natural causes in prison less than a year into his 40-year sentence. Khan, 76, had evaded justice for 15 years by fleeing to his native Pakistan after the 2005 killing, before being arrested in 2020 and extradited to the UK in 2023. His death closes a long-running case that saw all seven men involved in the fatal 2005 robbery eventually convicted, with Khan the last to face trial.
Assistant coroner Naomi McLoughlin recorded Khan's cause of death as bronchial pneumonia linked to multiple strokes and lung cancer; he was being treated for stage-four cancer and died at HMP Wakefield on 21 February 2025 after being returned from hospital for palliative care. PC Beshenivsky, a mother-of-three who had been in the job just nine months, was shot dead alongside an unarmed colleague while responding to an armed robbery at a Bradford travel agents on her daughter's fourth birthday in November 2005. Khan was convicted in April 2024 and jailed for life with a 40-year minimum term the following month, having maintained he was guilty only of the robbery, not the murder.
- Piran Ditta Khan died naturally in prison, coroner rules
- He evaded capture for 15 years before extradition in 2023
- Jailed for life in 2024 for murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky
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In November 2005, West Yorkshire Police officers Sharon Beshenivsky and an unarmed colleague responded to an armed robbery at a travel agents in Bradford. Beshenivsky was shot and killed; the case led to convictions for all seven men involved.
Piran Ditta Khan was identified as the robbery’s leader but fled to Pakistan and remained there for years. He was arrested in 2020, extradited to the UK in 2023 and later convicted of Beshenivsky’s murder, becoming the last of the seven to face trial.
The case drew attention to the long pursuit of a suspect who had avoided justice abroad. Khan’s death in prison came less than a year after his conviction, bringing his part in the criminal proceedings to a close.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “PC Sharon Beshenivsky’s killer who spent 15 years on the run died in jail from natural causes, coroner rules”.