Judge calls for crossbow licences after killing

CROSSBOWS should need a licence to be bought, a judge suggested yesterday as he gave a former hospital worker who murdered his ex-wife a 33-year jail term.

Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo shot Sana Muhammad, 35, at her home in Ilford, east London, on November 12 last year. She died after the 18-inch hunting bolt pierced her heart, although her unborn child survived.

Unmathallegadoo, 51, was convicted of murder by an Old Bailey jury after a retrial.

Judge Mark Lucraft urged the authorities to consider introducing licences for crossbows, saying they “can be used to devastating effect to kill”.

“Many, I am sure, will find the ease with which some items are available deeply concerning,” he said.

The judge described the attack as “brutal and evil”, adding: “This was an attack that was clearly extensively planned and premeditated.

“The evidence points to your acquisition of crossbows several years before and surveillance of the scene over a lengthy period.”

Mrs Muhammad’s parents had arranged her first marriage to Unmathallegadoo when she was 15, but the unhappy relationship ended in 2012.

She then began a relationship with Imtiaz Muhammad, but her estranged husband plotted his revenge, buying several crossbows and carrying out surveillance of Mrs Muhammad’s home

No licence or registration is required to own a crossbow in Britain although under the Crossbows Act 1987 they cannot be bought by people under 18. Possession is also prohibited for those under 18, except when under adult supervision.