The photo on the left shows the horrific injuries a Sikh woman suffered after being attacked by her father-in-law because he thought she was having
an affair with a Muslim man.
Jageer Mirgind was left blind and scarred for life after 51-year-old Manjit Mirgind slashed her wrists and stabbed her in the eyes screaming 'I am going to kill you'.
Mrs Mirgind's children, just three and six years old, watched the horrific attack at their mum's home in Kensington Gardens, Ilford, East London, and pleaded with their grandfather to stop.
The mother has been left partially-sighted in both eyes while the children can no longer sleep alone and have recurring nightmares.
The crazed attacker wrongly believed his
daughter-in-law was 'sleeping with a Paki' and
that she had 'ruined his family', Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Tragically, Mirgind misunderstood the situation when his daughter was the victim of a series of prank calls.
After punching her in the face he dragged her into the kitchen where he savagely kicked her before grabbing a knife. He eventually left and went home as his wife called an ambulance for Mrs Mirgind. He later turned himself in at the police station and told them exactly what had happened.
Judge Nigel Peters QC said: 'You have accepted that you have caused the most serious injuries to your daughter in law.
'You set about her having taken umbrage because you felt she was having affairs when it turned out she had been receiving prank calls.
'You set out with great hostility and vengeance - you punched her, forced to the ground and kicked her and took knives to her face and wrist to gouge
her eyes.
'She has since lost a lot of sight in both eyes and there is major scarring to her face.
'She has a stutter as well, most likely caused by the loss of confidence and lack of sleep and general work.
'So distressing was that her children, your grandchildren, witnessed it from start to finish and pleaded with you to stop but you did not
stop.'
Father-of-four Mirgind stared at the floor as he was jailed for ten years and eight months at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
Crown lawyer Jonathan Turner said Mrs
Mirgind's children had suffered, having begged the defendant to stop and they saw the blood everywhere. 'Their life has changed and they cannot sleep
alone while the marriage of their parents has disintegrated.' Mrs Mirgind has since moved to Nottingham with her two children. The court heard the defendant Mirgind had been an leading member of the Sikh community and often drove young worshippers to the temple.
In a statement read by his lawyer Edward
Boateng-Addo, he said: 'I am a hard-working family man who left his job to care for his ill mother seven years ago.
'I was stressed out at the time and nothing can excuse what I did. 'I was trying to protect her – I am a peaceful and honest man and I know I will not have the chance to apologise but I do look to the court to say how sorry I am. He had initially been charged with attempted murder but prosecutors later accepted a plea of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in order to avoid having to go to trial.
Mirgind, of Mayfair Avenue, Ilford, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
A single count of attempted murder has been left
to lie on the court file.
