A ‘cowardly bully’ dragged his partner down the stairs by her hair. Saiful Chowdhury, 33, had been in a relationship with the woman since 2012.
The relationship was turbulent, with Chowdhury often becoming aggressive, Manchester Crown Court heard. Things got worse when he lost his job in 2017 and he became violent.
On December 6, 2021, at around 9am, Chowdhury, of Trafford, asked the woman for £20 for petrol. She said she didn’t have it. He then asked for a bank transfer and she refused. He became aggressive and angry, the court heard.
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“He climbed onto the bed and slapped her left cheek and shouted 'I need the f***** money'," prosecutor Adam Lodge said.
“He then grabbed her hair with both hands and dragged her down the stairs and slapped her again at the bottom of the stairs with both hands. He then left the property and she locked the doors, including putting a metal chain across.
“He later came back shouting 'where’s my f****** money?' before kicking the door open and breaking the chain.” The woman sat against her bedroom door, effectively barricading herself inside, while he kicked the door.
The woman was treated for a broken big toe at hospital, which had been caused by being dragged down the stairs. Before going into hospital she received a phone call from Chowdhury, in which he said 'watch, I’m going to kill you, going to stab you, watch, on my mother’s life'.
The court heard of an earlier incident where Chowdhury had swung the metal pipe of a vacuum cleaner at her, hitting her to the head, before punching her several times to the head. She was left with a black eye.
In a police interview, Chowdhury claimed they had both fallen down the stairs after she had grabbed his jacket to stop him going out with friends. He later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm; common assault; and sending malicious communications.
The court heard the woman is suffering from depression and that she is scared for her life. She said she feels ‘hurt and broken’.
Chowdhury has 17 previous convictions for 28 offences.
Mitigating, Ellie Akhgar said Chowdhury accepted that he tried to ‘minimise his actions’ and accepted that it was ‘wrong to do so’. “He tells me he finds it difficult to accept his offending,” she said.
“There is a significant degree of shame and embarrassment. He has found it difficult to go into discussions about his behaviour and not being able to open up about it.”
Sentencing, judge Recorder Mark Ford QC said: “You provided an account to the probation service where you not only minimised your offending, but you sought to place blame on the victim of the incident.
“You started bullying the victim for money and you lost your temper when she could not provide you with that money you were asking for. What followed was a prolonged and sustained assault. She was utterly blameless.
“This is not the only example of your cowardly and bullying behaviour. I understand the strain on your relationship must have been exacerbated during the pandemic, but a great number people have been similarly affected and they didn’t resort to battering their partner.”
Chowdhury, of Ayres Road, was jailed for 16 months and made the subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting the woman for 10 years.
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