Man with “highly dangerous attitude towards women” jailed

A man with a “highly dangerous attitude towards women” who controlled his girlfriend’s life “to the point of misery” has been jailed for more than five years.

Tanveer Chowdhury, 22, even degraded the victim by stripping and beating her in front of his friends following an argument on 27 July last year.

Chowdhury, of Desborough Avenue, Stanground, Peterborough, had taunted her in a text by saying he was with another woman at her home in Cambourne, near Cambridge.

She confronted and slapped him, but this triggered a terrifying 90-minute ordeal in which Chowdhury threw her to the floor, dragged her, repeatedly kicked and punched her all over body, and prodded her with a butter knife.

Chowdhury’s two friends tried to intervene, but his attack continued as he tore the victim’s clothes from her while yelling abuse.

He showed an intimate video of the victim to his friends and left her with a cut lip, bruising and with clumps of her hair pulled out.

After Chowdhury’s friends left, the victim tried to escape through her bedroom window several times, but he kept pulling her back inside.

Eventually, she managed to call police and later disclosed that Chowdhury had become violent after he moved in with her in March last year.

During arguments, Chowdhury would regularly force her into the bathroom, lock the door behind him and pin her to the floor while he verbally abused and assaulted her.

On two occasions, when the victim was in the bath, he forced the locked door open and held her head under the water for several seconds and once yelled that he “didn’t care” if he killed her.

He would take her phone from her and text her friends to say she wasn’t available, and as a result she lost friends which left her isolated.

Chowdhury also demanded to know her movements when she was out and about.

In April this year, Chowdhury was found guilty of two counts of intentional suffocation, engage in controlling and coercive behaviour and sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state intending to cause alarm. He pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm (ABH) and assault by beating.

On Thursday, 12 June, at Cambridge Crown Court, Chowdhury was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison and handed an indefinite restraining order.

Sentencing, Judge Andrew Hurst said: “You clearly have a quick and violent temper. She was abused at your hands; you controlled her life to the point of misery. You verbally abused her. You physically assaulted her on a routine basis. You degraded her in front of other people and on occasions barred her from leaving her own home.”

 Judge Hurst described the two counts of intentional suffocation as a “real and particular concern” because it demonstrated “a highly dangerous attitude towards women”.

DC Isobel Clegg, who investigated, said: “This sentencing marks the conclusion of an horrific case of domestic abuse.

“Chowdhury subjected the victim to repeated and prolonged assaults which left her fearing for her life.

“I would like to praise the tremendous bravery and courage of the victim throughout the investigation and trial. I hope the sentence will give the victim some sense of justice as she starts to rebuild her life.”

If you are worried your partner may have an abusive past, or have concerns about a friend or loved one’s partner you can use the Clare's Law scheme. For more information on accessing the scheme visit Clare's Law page.

For more information on domestic abuse and the signs to look out for, visit Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s website.