- Miss Choudhury said she was attacked in Birmingham city centre
- Police launched an investigation into the incident and trawled CCTV
- Their inquiry revealed that the student had completely made up the attack
- Miss Choudhury was fined £90 for wasting West Midlands Police's time
Miss Choudray posed for pictures that would not identify her, two days after she reported the 'attack'
A Muslim teenager has been fined after she lied about being punched in the face because she wore a hijab in the days after the Paris terror attacks.
Student Miss Choudhury, 18, said she was attacked on New Street in Birmingham because she was wearing Islamic headwear.
She told police that she was knocked to the floor in the racist attack and that other Muslims in the area were being targeted following the French massacre, which saw ISIS jihadists kill 130 people and injure 352 at various locations in Paris in November last year.
Speaking about the made-up attack on November 23, 2015, Miss Choudhury, who did not want her first name to be revealed, said she had been left too scared to walk through in the city alone.
She said: 'I feel shocked and really scared that someone could attack you for no reason. I don't feel safe at all now.
'I was walking to the train station to meet some friends when someone shoved me from behind.
'When I turned around he punched me in the face and then just went off.
'I was really upset afterwards. I can only think it was because he saw my hijab as he didn't take my bag or anythi ng.
'I've lived in Birmingham all my life and I've never experienced something like this before.
'It's made life harder for innocent Muslims. We don't want people to be killed, that's not our religion. Our religion is all about peace.
'My parents are so scared that they're telling me to take my hijab off. My mum's telling me to wear a hat instead.'
Despite her claims, investigations by West Midlands Police revealed that Miss Choudhury had made up the attack.
Detectives trawled through CCTV footage in and around Birmingham's main shopping street in a bid to identify an offender from the November 23 'attack'.
They even accompanied Miss Choudhury on a walk through the city centre to help her pinpoint the exact location of the attack.
But after monitoring her movements on footage from that morning, officers found no evidence of the alleged assault.
West Midlands Police revealed she has now been fined £90 for wasting police time.
Student Miss Choudhury (pictured two days after she reported the 'attack'), 18, said she was attacked on New Street in Birmingham because she was wearing Islamic headwear
She told police that she was knocked to the floor in the racist attack and that other Muslims in the area were being targeted
Speaking about the made-up attack on November 23, 2015, Miss Choudhury, who did not want her first name to be revealed, said she had been left too scared to walk through in the city alone
Superintendent Andy Parsons, from West Midlands Police, said: 'Detectives spent countless hours looking through footage from the network of city centre CCTV cameras in a bid to piece together what happened.
'The footage shows her walking norma lly along New Street and at no stage does she appear in distress or seen reacting to anything.
'There is no evidence she was physically assaulted and she was given a penalty notice for wasting police time.
'Hate crimes are taken very seriously.
Student Miss Choudhury, 18, said she was attacked on New Street (pictured) in Birmingham because she was wearing Islamic headwear
'Birmingham is a multicultural city and everyone should be fre e to go about their lives without fear of being verbally or physically abused simply because of who they are.
'But lying to the police is a serious offence.
'It can divert crucial police resources away from investigating real crimes and helping true victims and will lead to a fine, caution or potentially a jail term for perverting the course of justice.'
References
- ^ Anthony Joseph for MailOnline (www.dailymail.co.uk)
