The Buckingham Murders Recap and Ending Explained

**Spoiler warning: This article discusses the complete plot and ending of The Buckingham Murders, including the killer’s identity.**

Preeti Kohli (Prabhleen Sandhu), the adoptive mother of the murdered boy, arranged Ishpreet Kohli’s death. She had cultivated a relationship with a young man named Prithvi, who was living with the family, and directed him to drown Ishpreet at a local park. The detective assigned to the case, DS Jasmeet “Jass” Bhamra (Kareena Kapoor Khan), spends most of the film working against her own superior, who is actively framing the wrong person. A second DNA profile and a burner phone eventually expose the real source of the crime.

The film is directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Kareena Kapoor Khan alongside Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures, Mahana Films, and Miracle Pictures. It marks Kapoor Khan’s debut as a producer. In an interview with The Upcoming at the 67th BFI London Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere on October 14, 2023, Mehta described his aim as making the story about grief and trauma rather than police procedure. Shot primarily in Buckinghamshire with a largely British crew, the film runs 107 minutes. The screenplay is by Aseem Arrora, Raghav Raj Kakker, and Kashyap Kapoor. The film opened in Indian theaters on September 13, 2024, and arrived on Netflix on November 8, 2024.

Why Bhamra Transfers to Buckinghamshire

Bhamra accepted a demotion from Detective Inspector to Detective Sergeant in order to leave London after her young son was killed when a drug addict named James Thomas opened fire in a crowded area. Thomas was convicted, but Bhamra could not return to ordinary casework. She applies for a transfer to High Wycombe, a market town in Buckinghamshire with a substantial South Asian community, knowing the grief she carries will follow her regardless.

On her first day in High Wycombe, Bhamra is assigned the disappearance of a ten-year-old boy named Ishpreet Kohli.

The Case Against Saqib Chaudhary

Ishpreet’s body is found in a car registered to Saqib Chaudhary (Kapil Redekar), a teenager whose DNA also appears in the forensic report. DI Hardik Patel (Ash Tandon), known as Hardy, Bhamra’s superior in the Buckinghamshire department, moves quickly to arrest Saqib. A statement from Naved, Saqib’s close friend, describes witnessing Saqib strangle Ishpreet following an argument at the park.

Bhamra’s colleague Sharon Marks (Adwoa Akoto) identifies Daljeet Kohli (Ranveer Brar), Ishpreet’s adoptive father, as a person with a record of violent behavior and significant debt. Bhamra notes Daljeet’s involvement with a woman named Indrani (Sarah-Jane Dias), but neither angle produces direct evidence connecting Daljeet to the boy’s death. Pursuing Saqib’s account separately, Bhamra arranges a private meeting. Saqib explains that he and Naved had gone to Totteridge Rye Park to meet in secret, as Saqib feared his conservative family’s reaction to their relationship. Ishpreet came to the park that day to deliver drugs. There was an argument, and Saqib admits to pushing Ishpreet into the water during it, but says the boy was alive when he left.

Hardy Patel’s Vendetta and His Death

Hardy targeted Saqib because of a personal loss, not because of evidence tying him to Ishpreet’s murder. His sister Shalini obtained drugs through Saqib’s network, overdosed, and fell into a coma. Hardy placed Ishpreet’s body in Saqib’s car and coerced Naved into providing a false statement so the arrest would hold. When Bhamra brings her findings forward and confronts Hardy in the forest with police backing, he shoots himself rather than face the consequences.

The DNA That Changes the Case

The second DNA profile recovered from Ishpreet’s body belongs to Prithvi, the younger brother of Tejinder “Syringe” Singh (Haider Javed), a drug dealer serving a prison sentence. While Syringe was imprisoned, the Kohli family took Prithvi in. He quietly resumed his brother’s drug operation and used Ishpreet to run deliveries. A search of Prithvi’s belongings recovers Ishpreet’s missing school bag and a burner phone. The burner phone contains a record of communications between Prithvi and Preeti Kohli.

Preeti Kohli’s Motive and the Airport Arrest

Preeti never agreed to the adoption. Daljeet and his mother made the decision without consulting her, bringing Ishpreet from Punjab, India, to High Wycombe. After Daljeet’s mother died during the pandemic, Preeti was left as Ishpreet’s sole caretaker in a marriage she describes as abusive. Over time she cultivated a close emotional relationship with Prithvi, making him dependent on her, and eventually directed him to drown Ishpreet at the park. Her stated goals were to punish Daljeet and to collect the life insurance payment on Ishpreet’s death.

Daljeet had separately suspected Prithvi’s involvement with Preeti and killed him after finding him at the family home. He admits to that killing but insists he had no part in Ishpreet’s murder.

Police intercept Preeti at the airport before she can board a flight out of the country. Bhamra is present for the confrontation, and Preeti describes the calculation behind what she did.

The film positions the scene so that Bhamra’s history as a bereaved mother bears directly on what she confronts here. She had read Preeti, at more than one point in the investigation, as a grieving parent. Our reading is that the revelation is not simply that Preeti arranged her child’s death, but that Bhamra’s direct experience of loss gave her no particular advantage in recognizing that a mother standing in front of her felt nothing of the kind.

Mehta confirmed at the BFI London Film Festival that the film is intended as the first entry in a planned franchise around the Bhamra character. According to Wikipedia, the film received five nominations at the 70th Filmfare Awards in 2025, including Best Film (Critics) and Best Actress (Critics) for Kapoor Khan.