Hyderabad man jailed in UK for 16 years for attempted murder of ex-girlfriend

Hyderabad: A 25-year-old Indian man charged with attempted murder of a female student, also an Indian, in east London two years ago has been sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment by a court here.

Sriram Ambarla, who was arrested at the scene of stabbing the female inside a Hyderabadi restaurant in east London, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court on Thursday.

On March 5, 2022, Sriram Ambarla from Hyderabad stabbed his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old from Kerala, at Hyderabad Wala restaurant in London.

Sona Biju, a part-time employee at the restaurant, treated Sriram like any other customer, serving him food as he arrived and ordered. While seated, he made disturbing searches on his phone.

According to a court report in ‘MyLondon’, they both came to study at the University of East London in 2022 where Ambarla pursued her and resorted to physical threats before the attack in March that year.

The unnamed victim, a student from Kerala in her 20s, who was working part-time as a waitress at the restaurant in east London has since completed her Master’s course.

Judge Philip Katz described Ambarla as “jealous, possessive and determined” when he attacked his former girlfriend, whom he had met in Hyderabad and split up with in 2019.

“That she did not die is no thanks to you. She was within a hair’s breadth of dying at your hands in a public and terrifying way,” Judge Katz told him while handing down the sentence, which will run concurrently with a 12-month sentence for knife possession.

Ambarla is also banned from making contact with his victim again through an indefinite restraining order.

The court heard how soon after the stabbing Ambarla approached police officers, telling them he had stabbed his “girlfriend” and later said he wanted to be sent back to India so he could be put to death.

According to the ‘MyLondon’ court report, horrific footage of the attack and medical evidence of nine stab wounds on the victim formed part of the evidence for the hearing. The victim was left in critical care for nearly a month undergoing six surgeries.

Two forensic psychologists, who assessed Ambarla, concluded he was a dangerous offender and ruled out that a “borderline personality disorder” could have significantly impaired his judgement during the attack.

Inputs from PTI