A domestic abuser has been banned from a Midlands university for life after bombarding a student with up to 300 phone calls a day. Zohaib Mehmood, 22, had been in a relationship with the woman for around nine months before she ended it in September last year. However, he refused to leave her alone and regularly turned up at Keele University, where she studied, in an attempt to see her.
Relentless Harassment
For eight weeks, Mehmood made her life a misery by flooding her with between 200 and 300 phone calls daily, visiting uninvited, and gaslighting her by threatening to kill himself. When she reported him to the police, he tried to persuade her to retract the complaint. The victim was seriously affected by his behaviour, and Mehmood was described as a 'dangerous domestic abuser' before being jailed for two years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Ross McQuillan-Johnson said the defendant and his victim met on Instagram and were in a relationship for about nine months. It ended on September 6, and she was then subjected to 'unrelenting harassment'. He added: 'She feared reporting it due to retaliation. He made threats against her. At the conclusion of the relationship and following the defendant's arrest she had 200 to 300 calls per day. She kept in touch with him due to fear of repercussions and multiple threats of suicide he made to her. He sent photos of himself self-harming. When he became aware she had made a statement to the police he contacted her in an attempt to persuade her to retract the complaint.'
Arrest and Evidence
Mehmood was arrested on October 20, and police found him with a ligature which he admitted was to be used for hanging himself. He had a note in which he named the victim and said 'she killed me', StokeonTrentLive reports. In a victim impact statement, the woman spoke of the manipulation, fear, and guilt Mehmood used over her and said he tried to ruin her life. Her life no longer feels like her own, and she struggles to sleep, the victim added.
Mehmood, of Maxey Road, Dagenham, pleaded guilty to stalking causing serious alarm or distress; two charges of having an article or blade with a point; and doing an act intending to pervert the course of public justice.
Defence and Sentencing
Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, mitigating, said this was Mehmood's first long-term relationship. She added: 'He was a man of good character which he has now lost. He did have thoughts of suicide. He carried scissors with him to self-harm. He was at his lowest and could not see a way out.' She said Mehmood has found prison a hostile environment and has been exposed to violence, but he has spent his time learning new skills and 'growing spiritually'. Miss Devans-Tamakloe added: 'He committed very serious offences. But they are not a true reflection of who he is. He has spent seven-and-a-half months in custody. There is a real prospect of rehabilitation.'
Mehmood has been banned from entering the grounds of Keele University for life, and a life-long restraining order is also in place for the victim and her sister. Recorder Robert Smith said: 'Your victim was a student at Keele and lived on the campus. You would travel to see her, often uninvited. After she split up from you, you bombarded her with calls and texts, threats of violence, and repercussions of violence if she stopped speaking to you. You rang her between 200 and 300 times a day. You threatened suicide and sent photos of you harming yourself. Some of the suicidal ideation was genuine but some was domestic abuse gaslighting to control and manipulate your victim, to get her to meet you and to answer the phone. I have read the victim's personal statement. It is one of the most compelling I have ever read. She was absolutely terrified of you. It seemed you would stop at absolutely nothing. You made her life an abject misery. She was scared that you would ruin her life.'
He added: 'On October 2025 you were found on Keele Road. You were heading towards Newcastle town centre in possession of a ligature and two pairs of scissors, which you said were to harm yourself. Your pursuit of your victim was obsessive. You deluded yourself into thinking that your behaviour was somehow justified to win her affections back. But what you did was to turn every moment of her life into a living nightmare for eight weeks, the worst of her life. She was caused serious distress by your behaviour. You made your victim's life a living nightmare. You caused her significant and enduring psychological damage. You simply could not accept the fact that she no longer wished to be in a relationship with you. You pose a high risk of harm to women who find themselves in an intimate relationship with you. You are obsessive, manipulative and a dangerous domestic abuser. Only immediate custody is appropriate. This was a really nasty course of offending.'
Mehmood will serve half the sentence in prison with the rest on licence.
