Man who poured oil on wife jailed for 26 years

A man who poured hot oil on his wife before violently assaulting her in a sustained attack, has been jailed for 26 years.

Raju Mollah, 50, was sentenced after being found guilty of attempted murder. An indefinite restraining order was also granted during the sentencing hearing.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court last year heard Mollah and his wife had argued over property a few days before the attack.

The defendant had returned home from work on 12 January 2025 and, after telling his wife to cook an omelette, he heated up an unusual amount of oil in a frying pan, before grabbing her hair and pouring it over her.

As she fell to the floor, he stamped on her, kicked her and pushed a mop into her face, as she was sustaining severe burns across her face, neck, arms and hands.

She also suffered a minor bleed to the brain, missing teeth, bleeding from the mouth, a swollen left eye, deep wounds to her face and head, and singed hair.

After being called to the paramedics arrived, the victim was lying in a pool of oil with blood surrounding her head. One of the paramedics reported that she could feel radiating heat from the hot oil which had covered the floor.

Police were than called and when they arrived Mollah lied, claiming that what had happened was an accident when his wife had fallen over.

Later, in his police interview, he falsely claimed he was defending himself from an attack by his wife.

After Mollah was sentenced, the Crown Prosecution Service, described what he had done as a vicious attack.

"Raju Mollah lied to minimise what he had done by claiming self-defence, but the evidence proved he deliberately attacked his wife with the intention of killing her," said Senior Crown Prosecutor Tejinder Sandhu.

"We would like to commend the victim for her courage and bravery in giving evidence against Mollah and we hope this conviction brings some measure of justice to her as she continues her recovery."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

Man facing jail for attempted murder of wife

HM Courts & Tribunals Service