Police officer stalked ex with tracker on car 11 years af ter they split
ThE countess of carnarvon of highclere castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, admits she struggles with Zoom calls and would much prefer to communicate in the style of Downton’s countess of Grantham, played by Dame Maggie Smith. ‘I am mildly unprepared for a Zoom call, at least certainly in terms of appearance,’ says Lady carnarvon. ‘on both sides of the call, gone is the previous formality of dress and make-up, and even when the top half of the caller looks smart, there is always the sneaking question of whether they are still wearing their pyjamas on the bottom half. An old-fashioned phone call is a more prudent option, and the apparatus which was so new to the countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey is increasingly rather reassuring today and often the “safer” option.’
A FORMER special constable attached a tracking device to his ex-lover’s car so he could follow her more than a decade after she ended their relationship.
Abdul Salam, 37, set up an elaborate ruse to try to convince Razia Azhar’s husband she was cheating on him.
He posed as a woman called ‘Samantha’ and reported Mrs Azhar’s movements to her husband in an attempt to convince him his wife was having an affair.
But Mr and Mrs Azhar set up a sting operation in a Dundee street to catch Salam.
At Dundee Sheriff Court on Monday, Salam, whose two-year relationship with his victim ended in 2008, admitted stalking Mrs Azhar between April and June 2019.
Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan told the court that Mrs Azhar had noticed the accused would frequently turn up at locations where she was.
He added: ‘In May 2019 she was in Pure Gym when she was approached by the accused asking to get back with him. He became aggressive and was shouting. The accused was removed from the building.’
Her husband Mobeen Azhar began receiving WhatsApp messages from a number he did not know, with the sender claiming to be a parent at his child’s school. The fiscal said: ‘The person claimed to be called Samantha and had evidence Razia Azhar was cheating on him. The couple discussed what was going on and, coupled with Salam’s frequent unexplained appearances, realised he must be involved.’
The couple hatched a plot to trap him and Mr Azhar sent a text to ‘Samantha’ to lure him into meeting them.
They tricked Salam into approaching Mrs Azhar’s car when it was parked, with her husband hiding in the back.
He jumped out and confronted the stalker and they ‘began pushing each other’, the court heard. The fracas took place in view of a police station and an officer ran out. Salam, of Dundee, tried to run off but was detained.
The tracking device was then spotted, the court heard.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond deferred sentence for reports, but warned Salam it was ‘a serious matter’.