An Indian man in the United Kingdom was jailed for 29 months on Wednesday for stalking a woman over a period of 18 months after a brief interaction with her in a London shop, the Metropolitan Police said.
Rohit Sharma, 28, was sentenced to 22 months in jail for stalking, six months for harassment and one month for failing to appear in court. The Isleworth Crown Court also ordered that he be considered for deportation at the end of his prison sentence.
Police said Sharma began stalking the woman after she served him in a shop in Wembley in November 2017. He returned the same day with his father and asked her to marry him, the police said.
The woman changed jobs after the man began stalking her, but Sharma managed to get her phone number and bombarded her with multiple messages through phone, text and social media. He was issued a harassment warning in February 2018 after the woman complained to police. However, she continued to receive up to 40 calls a day from nearly fifteen different numbers.
He was formally charged with harassment in July 2018 but continued to pursue the woman after obtaining bail. The woman then was forced to quit her job once again and moved away from the area to escape the situation.
“This whole experience has completely shattered my nerves,” the woman said in a statement. “I have no desire to socialise or meet new people, which has really taken its toll and ruined the university experience I had always envisioned,” she said.
Detective Constable Nicola Kerry of the Metropolitan Police said the victim had been left devastated by Sharma’s actions.
Sharma was finally arrested in April when police tracked him down to an address in Wembley. He pleaded guilty to charges of stalking, harassment and failing to appear in court.
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