New Delhi: After Oxford Brookes University expelled a 22-year-old Indian-origin student, who was found guilty of stalking by a UK court was given a suspended sentence and is set to leave for Hong Kong.
Sahil Bhavnani, who intimidated a female student at Oxford Brookes University, was sentenced to four months in jail with a two-year suspension and a five-year restraining order on Thursday.
After learning that Bhavnani will be travelling to Hong Kong with his father on Saturday, Judge Nigel Daly delivered the judgement at the Oxford Crown Court.
“Unfortunately for Bhavnani, it’s [Oxford Brookes University] to expel him from the university and the degree he was on,” defence lawyer Richard Davies informed the court.
A suspended sentence is a punishment imposed after a conviction for a criminal offence that the court directs to be served after the offender completes a period of probation.
According to the Oxford Mail, Bhavnani was scheduled to be sentenced last month, but when the court learned that the university may take up to six weeks to decide if the engineering student would be dismissed, the case was postponed until January 2022.
The university, however, has moved that judgement forward again in order to wrap up the matter this week.
'I Hope Your Obsession With Her Is Over'
“If you breach that [restraining] order there is a maximum of five years’ imprisonment to serve. I hope that your obsession with her is over,” Judge Daly was quoted by PTI in its report.
Bhavnani allegedly threatened the female nursing student in a 100-page letter given to her last month, according to the court.
He stated that he had plagiarised the threats from internet poems.
The woman stated in her statement that she was afraid Bhavnani would sexually abuse her.
Bhavnani admitted to stalking but not to a more severe version of the crime. He's previously been on remand for a month after violating his bail before.
'I Started Getting Messages.....Saying He Make Me Have His Children'
“I started getting six-minute-long voice messages saying he was going to make me be his wife, make me have his children, make me live with him,” the victim informed BBC.
The victim had made it clear that she was not interested in any form of relationship, and had told Bhavnani that if he continued to harass her, she would call the cops.
She is now advocating for a change in the university's policy, as well as additional assistance for stalking victims.
'Student Behaviour May Also Constitute A Criminal Offence'
“In this individual case, following a university conduct hearing, the most severe penalty available was applied by the university and the student was expelled from Oxford Brookes,” the varsity said in an issued statement.
“We accept, however, that there are lessons we can learn for the future, especially in cases where student behaviour may also constitute a criminal offence,” it added.
(With Inputs From PTI)