A dad-to-be tried to murder his pregnant partner with a knife in a “horrifying” street attack – but she was saved by her breast implants.
One wound inflicted by businessman Babur Karamat Raja was just 2mm from killing their unborn child, a court heard. Raja has been jailed for 18 years.
Judge Simon Drew described it as “a horrific premeditated attack” which merited an extended sentence. The 40-year-old victim, who used to be in a relationship with the defendant, cannot be named for legal reasons.
They had been together for 18 months and had known each other since they were 15.
Company director Raja, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, also pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted child destruction, possession of a knife in public, and the wounding and assault of two passers-by in a Birmingham Crown Court appearance last month.
His victim was in court and broke down in tears as he entered his guilty pleas. In court, the judge was told how if the knife was 2mm deeper, the child would have died. It was also said that her breast implants may have saved her life.
Raja was arrested and taken to Sutton Coldfield police station. During an assessment with mental health professionals, he said he had felt low in mood for three months. The court heard how Raja’s mother was deeply troubled by him engaging in a relationship with a white non-Muslim woman. She said the mother knew nothing of the pregnancy.
His younger brother married a Sikh and the mother had not spoken to him in years. He said he had been thinking about killing the victim for a few days before. He had a knife and spare set of clothes in his car, in preparation to kill.
Speaking in court, the victim said: “My world is one I don’t know how to deal with and it scares me massively. “I now have to totally rebuild by life.”