A BID to increase the 25-year minimum term handed to a Bradford man who murdered his niece has failed.

A challenge was made shortly after Mohammed Taroos Khan was sentenced to life in prison for murdering Somaiya Begum.

The bid saw the murder jail term reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office under a scheme for sentences believed to be too lenient.

A spokesman has now confirmed that the case was not deemed to be “unduly lenient” and was therefore not referred to the Court of Appeal.

It means that the 25-year minimum term will not be increased.

A spokesperson from the Attorney General’s Office said: “The Solicitor General was shocked and deeply saddened by this case.

“After careful consideration, the Solicitor General has concluded that this case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.

“A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Police investigation underway in Fitzwilliam Street after a body was foundPolice investigation underway in Fitzwilliam Street after a body was found (Image: Newsquest)

The trial, at Bradford Crown Court, had been shown CCTV footage of Khan dumping his 20-year-old niece’s body on wasteland in Fitzwilliam Street on the outskirts of Bradford city centre.

Her body was found on July 6 last year.

Khan, 53, had denied murdering Miss Begum, of Binnie Street, Barkerend, on, or around June 25, 2022, but admitted to disposing of her body.

Miss Begum’s body was found with a 10.7cm-long metal spike embedded in her back, which had penetrated her lung.

Her blood was also found on a table in the living room of her home in Binnie Street.

Khan, of Thornbury Road, Bradford, transported Miss Begum’s body to a shipping container he used in Thornbury Road, Bradford, where it was stored overnight on June 25 last year.

He then wrapped his niece's body in a carpet and drove to Fitzwilliam Street where he dumped her body into trees, behind a wall and among rubbish there.

He was found guilty by a unanimous jury on March 14 following a 10-day trial.

Khan was also jailed for five years, to run concurrently, for a second charge of perverting the course of justice after he had admitted the disposing of her body and trying to burn her mobile phone.