Ansarul Alom was handed a restraining order after admitting harassment (Pictures: Central News)
A top head chef was falsely accused of being a paedophile by a former colleague when their Indian restaurant went bust, a court heard.
Ansarul Alom, 36, was in partnership with Peter Joseph at the exclusive five-star Kahani restaurant in Belgravia.
But he was removed as a director when it ran into financial difficulties a year after opening, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
Mr Joseph later reported Alom to police after receiving a stream of angry messages from June to December last year branding him a ‘f***ing idiot’, a ‘liar’ and a ‘low-life’.
The chef also suspected Alom of posting negative reviews on TripAdvisor in a bid to wreck his business.
He told the court he had to move house, change his car and switch phone numbers to try to stop the harassment.
Alom claimed he had to face creditors when Kahani went into liquidation.
He claims Mr Joseph, 43, and his business partner, Saket Shrivastava, 47, had left him liable for unpaid bills totalling £400,000 after he was ousted from the restaurant.
Ansarul Alom was in partnership with Peter Joseph at the exclusive Kahani restaurant in Belgravia (Picture: Central News)
In an impact statement read out in court, Mr Shrivastava described ‘feeling worried, anxious and frustrated at the reputation damage designed to undermine his business’.
One email sent from Alom to Mr Joseph read: ‘You can block me all you want, God knows this is wrong.
‘The whole industry now knows you are a fraud. How can you claim to be religious and God-fearing when you treat people like that.’
Ms Leila Naheboo-Osman, prosecuting, told the court of one instance where Alom called the NSPCC to make unfounded allegations against Mr Shrivastava.
She said: ‘He accused him of being part of a paedophile ring grooming children.
‘After the call was made, police went round to investigate the way the victim was treating [his own] child.
‘That caused a great deal of distress to the victim. Police left finding no evidence of what was alleged.’
Alom was removed as a director when the restaurant hit financial difficulties, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard (Picture: Central News)
When Alom was found guilty of harassment, District Judge Michael Snow said he was ‘probably the only person in the room who thinks calling someone a “f***ing idiot” isn’t abusive’.
The judge had said he did not believe Alom’s claims and said the chef ‘moved home because he was so harassed and frightened of him’.
Alex Mullen defending said: ‘In relation to the text messages, they are very unattractive. They revolve around the conduct of the business. They weren’t legitimate demands in relation to money owned by the restaurant to the defendant.’
Mr Mullen also highlighted that an unknown individual attended Mr Joseph’s address whilst Alom’s harassment was ongoing.
He said: ‘The reason he’s moved home is because of the unknown person, not the messages.’
Alom, from Barking, admitted two charges under the Communications Act 2003. Alom denied but was convicted of harassment without violence.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
A restraining order was also imposed prohibiting Alom from contacting Mr Joseph and Mr Shrivastava or posting anything about them on social media.
He was also banned from attending the Kahani restaurant and the victim’s addresses.
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Ansarul Alom, 36, was in partnership with Peter Joseph at the exclusive five-star Kahani restaurant in Belgravia.