Man claimed bruises on his ex could be from hugging her too tight

A MAN who assaulted his girlfriend claimed her bruises could have been caused by him hugging her.

Binesh Ram left his now ex-girlfriend covered in bruises after a series of assaults.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard the 37-year-old regularly argued with his partner and the rows often turned physical.

In the process, it is claimed he punched, slapped, pushed and grabbed the victim, leaving her with bruising. The father-of-two claimed some of these had been caused by him hugging to calm her down.

Ram, of Grampian Way Sinfin, denied seven charges of assault from October to December 2019.

The court head Ram had started a relationship her in February 2018, after he had split from his partner and the mother of his two children.

It was told he and his new girlfriend often argued about his relationship with the mother of his children.

The defendant claimed that on this occasion he had grabbed hold of her arms after she began to elbow and kick him. That incident, which took place after a night of drinking at Christmas, led to the end of the relationship.

Photos displayed in court showed her with bruising on her arms, chest, buttocks and face on multiple occasions.

The prosecution said Ram gave differing explanations to police for the injuries.

“He denied causing the injuries and suggested that as she works with challenging children, they may have been caused at work, but he didn’t really know how they were caused,” they said.

“He then went on to say that he and her agreed a while back that if either felt an argument was escalating that he would hug her to try to let them both calm down.

“He thought that the bruises may have come from hugging her, but then said he wasn’t sure.”

Giving evidence in court, Ram said he felt like he had been “set up” and he felt she might have embellished what happened.

Thomas Welshman, defending Ram, told magistrates the charges were a catalogue of false allegations.

He said: “Mr Ram’s case is clear – this did not happen. She kept taking pictures and taking pictures and not telling anyone. Why did she not do that after those times? I suggest because there was nothing to report.”

Magistrates did not believe his claims and found him guilty on all seven charges. They said they felt the fact he worked with the victim had made her reluctant to report what had happened. He was given conditional bail while the probation service drafts a pre-sentence report ahead of a hearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on May 17.