A MEMBER of a notorious grooming ring stabbed Indian restaurant workers in a drug-fuelled rage after being arrested over forcing girls to have sex, it can be revealed.

The victims of the unprovoked attack that left Darlington’s Shapla restaurant “looking like a horror movie” say it may never have happened if the authorities had warned them about Mohibur Rahman.

The 44-year-old potwasher was among four men sentenced yesterday to a total of nearly 50 years' jail as part of a network of abusers that operated across Newcastle.

Rahman, who had four years added to the sentence he is already serving yesterday for conspiracy to incite prostitution and five drug-related offences, could not be named due to fears of prejudicing the grooming case.

He was handed a 16-year prison term in February for attacking his manager and a teenage waiter with an eight-inch chicken filleting knife while diners looked on at the Northgate restaurant.

Rahman had been on bail for offences relating to Operation Shelter – which investigated the grooming and abuse of girls across Newcastle – when 17-year-old Saju Ahmed and restaurant owner Abu Bakar Raju sustained life-threatening injuries in the attack.

Durham Constabulary referred themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in relation to their handling of Rahman after it was found he had also been arrested and cautioned for an unrelated matter the evening before the horrifying events unfolded.

Mr Raju’s family said they had “lost all faith” in the system following their life-changing ordeal, saying that Rahman should never have been allowed to work in a family environment, given the nature of the offences he was on bail over.

A spokeswoman for the family said they believe the brutal attack, which took place in front of a ten-year-old child, would never have happened had the authorities warned them about Rahman before they employed him at their restaurant.

She said more should have been done to ensure he complied with bail conditions, adding: “It is absolutely disgusting that he was allowed to work with the public when the authorities knew he was on bail and the charges he was facing.

“He should not have been allowed to work around young people and the restaurant was always busy with families.

“We will await the outcome of the IPCC investigation before saying more, but this attack left us with a lifetime of pain and disability.”

As more members of the Newcastle grooming gang were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, Rahman had four years added to his 16-year jail term by Judge Penny Moreland for his role in the grooming ring.

Known to his victims as Jimmy, the manipulative abuser pleaded guilty to allowing his properties to be used as the venue for “sessions” during which young girls and women would be plied with drugs and drink before being sexually exploited.

Rahman was not accused of sexual assault, but Newcastle Crown Court heard he invited a teenager to live in his home and plied her with alcohol and drugs before she was raped there by his co-defendant Habibur Rahim.

A 15-year-old living above Rahman’s property – which was described as a “doss house” frequented by drug users - was taken to hospital by her father after being left incapacitated by substances given to her by the gang.

The court heard Rahman previous convictions included a racially aggravated offence in which he called a female police officer a “white whore”, before threatening to cut her throat.

When questioned as part of the Operation Shelter investigation, he told police he would like to punch the girls who accused him of abusing them.

The Bangladeshi man also said: “You cannot control your white kids, that’s what I see in this country.”

Judge Moreland said there was no evidence the grooming of the girls and women was racially motivated, but accused Rahman of treating his victims with “utter contempt”.

She said: “You referred to them as kids, but your instincts were not to protect them as children should be protected, but to exploit them.”

Throughout the hearing Rahman appeared agitated and was rebuked by the judge, as were his fellow defendants, for stretching, yawning and rolling their eyes in the dock.

  • The Northern Echo has approached Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police for comment.