Indian Origin Man Sentenced to 6 Years for Stalking, Harassing Woman in U.K.

An Indian origin man has been sentenced to six years jail for harassing and intimidating a woman in the UK.

Sirtaj Bhangal, 35, had waged a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation against the woman and the Isleworth Crown Court sentenced him to jail on Oct. 26.

Bhangal, from Wraysbury Close, Hounslow had earlier pled guilty to at an earlier hearing to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence; two counts of witness intimidation and breach of a restraining order.

According to a police statement, Bhangal started harassing the woman in 2013 when he reached out to her via social media despite the fact the pair had not met. The tone of Bhangal’s messages were demeaning and the victim blocked him from her accounts.

“Sirtaj Bhangal launched an unprovoked, sustained campaign of intimidation against his victim which covered a period of five years, including a time when he was on remand in prison,” stated Detective Constable Nicola Kerry.

For the next three years, Bhangal harassed the victim in multiple accounts and it intensified when the victim received a nine-page letter intimating he would be upset if she ignored it. Over the next year the one-sided contact intensified through phone calls and texts and culminated with Bhangal approaching the victim and then hand-delivering another letter to the victim’s address in May 2017.

The woman reported the incident to the police after which Bhangal was arrested and charged for stalking and harassing. The court started hearing his case on July 22, 2014.

But even the arrest could not stop the stalker as he used an illegal mobile phone in prison to call the victim and threaten her with violence while awaiting trial.

Bhangal was subsequently charged with witness intimidation and a trial was set for 2 July 2018. In the meantime, on Jul. 3, the victim found an 80-page letter at her home address where through disturbing content, the man again threatened the victim and her family with extreme violent intention including having acid thrown at them. The letter also contained images of people who had been injured with corrosive substances alongside images of the victim taken from social media.

A search of Bhangal’s address was undertaken and items including imitation firearms, imitation grenades, Samurai swords, and packaging from acidic substances were recovered. Bhangal was further charged with the firearm offense and a second count of witness intimidation.

Kerry said, “The motive for this remains unclear and makes the intensity of his harassment all the more terrifying,” adding “I would like to praise the victim and her family for supporting this investigation and I can only hope that Bhangal’s imprisonment can offer them some small form of comfort.”