A man has been cleared in a court in Northern Ireland of assaulting his estranged wife.
A judge at Belfast Magistrates Court yesterday dismissed allegations that hotel tycoon Lord Diljit Rana (73) subjected Lady Shruti Rana to a “brutal and sustained” attack at his Belfast offices.
Lady Rana claimed her husband became enraged, grabbed her under the arms and forced her against a wall after she accused him of lying about a business meeting.
Lord Rana, Marlborough Park South, Belfast, who was made a life peer in 2004 and serves as the honorary consul of India to Northern Ireland, insisted his wife had told lies and was trying to blackmail him in a bid to secure a better divorce settlement.
Following two days of evidence, Deputy District Judge Neil Rafferty returned a not guilty verdict on the assault charge.
“If the assault was in the terms Lady Rana described, that it was a brutal and to some extent sustained assault,” Judge Rafferty said. “I would be stunned if the injuries were not much more significant than a 2x3cm bruise on the inner aspect of her arm.”