Leicester man jailed for bomb hoax

26 October 2018, 16:27 | Updated: 26 October 2018, 16:28

A man from Leicester - who subjected a former partner to mental abuse and went as far as planting a suspicious item in her husband’s car - has been jailed for more than three years.

27-year-old Riyaz Khan from Gilbert Close planted the hoax item in his targets car - which had been parked in Huntingdon Road.

The road was closed for more than nine hours while the Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit looked into it. 

They found that one of the two packages found was a viable device made up of fireworks. The second package smelt of petrol, but none was present, however there were fireworks attached and it was deemed that it could cause harm.

Enquiries carried out 4th June led detectives to arrest Khan in connection with the incident.

The investigation revealed the 27-year-old had previously been in a relationship with the bomb hoax victim’s wife, before she got married. During their relationship he displayed controlling behaviour and made threats towards her parents.

Khan also went as far as monitoring his former girlfriend’s social media accounts and contacting her at all times of the day and night.

When she married, he began driving by their home and following the couple. Witnesses stated that he was angry about their relationship and was intending to set the victim up by planting a device in his car.

As well as the two suspicious packages, Khan also planted a USB in the vehicle which contained indecent images of children.

Khan pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court on Friday 5 October to three counts of stalking, two of which caused fear of violence or serious alarm and distress, criminal damage and perverting the course of justice. The perverting the course of justice offence included the damage to the car when the package and USB were planted.

He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and was also given a restraining order against his former partner, her husband and a further family member.

Detective Constable Miranda Granger investigated the offences. She said: “We are pleased that Khan pleaded guilty to the offences and spared the victims the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

“We established during the investigation that Khan was angered by his former girlfriend’s new relationship and intended to disrupt their life.

“Khan would follow the victim home from work and would sit outside her home for no apparent reason.

“The incident in Huntingdon Road caused a great deal of disruption and distress to the local community. Both devices had the ability to cause harm and the swift response from EOD prevented injury to the public and damage to properties in the area.

“This was an extreme form of stalking. I hope the victims feel reassured that their concerns were taken seriously and Khan now faces a significant custodial sentence for his actions.

“The force takes incidents of stalking extremely seriously. Most people are stalked by people that they know. However, just because you know the person stalking you, that doesn’t make it right – it is still a crime.

“If you are the victim of stalking please contact the police. The National Stalking Helpline has more information about collecting evidence and how to keep a log, visit www.stalkinghelpline.org/creating-a-log.”