A Bronx Muslim taxi driver beaten and insulted by an unknown man for a $9 fare is speaking out. Serajul Khan, 49, a Muslim from Bangladesh, who has called New York his home for over 20 years, said he was brutally assaulted and robbed by a passenger who did not approve of his faith.
A Bronx Muslim taxi driver beaten by an angry passenger is now sporting black eyes and bruises on his lip and ears. Saturday night, Serajul Khan, a Bronx cab driver originally from Bangladesh, picked up two clients at Bedford Park Blvd. and Webster Ave. near the New York Botanical Garden.
According to a new report, Anti-Muslim incidents are rising since the terrorist attacks in France and California along with the rise of Donald Trump to the GOP nomination:
“In the months since the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2, reports of attacks and threats against Muslims in the United States have surged, researchers and civil rights groups say.According to a recent analysis based on reports from the news media and civil rights groups, the rate of suspected hate crimes against Muslims has tripled in the time since the attacks in Paris, with 38 attacks regarded as anti-Islamic. Here are some examples.”
The 49-year-old Muslim man dropped the male and female passengers at E. Tremont Avenue and Park Avenue and told the man that the fare was 9 dollars. He explained:
“I figured I’d make some gas money before I went to my mosque to pray. I’d been working seven or eight hours. Some people pay $8, some people pay $9.”
The man handed him a $10 bill, and when he gave him back a dollar, he got an unexpected reaction – the man became furious. Khan said he took out a wad of cash to give the man an extra dollar, and the passenger attacked him and stole around $200. Khan, who has been living in New York for over 20 years, said:
“He landed about 10 or 15 punches and I couldn’t see anything. He was screaming, ‘I’m going to kill you, you Muslim a–hole!’ “
Khan got out of the car, but his male assailant got out as well, and he threw him to the ground, kicked him and beat him. He shared that he was saved by the female passenger, who screamed for the attack to stop, which prompted a good Samaritan to come to his aid.
The man not only stole Khan’s money, but he also ran off with his expensive phone. The police were called to the scene, and Khan was taken to the hospital where he was treated. Khan is now recovering at home with a load of injuries. Khan’s daughter, Onita Naznin, shared:
“How mad were you beat him? What did he do to you that got you so upset that you had to keep beating him?”
Members of the New York City Police Department are still searching for the suspect, and thus far the incident is not seen as a hate crime.
How could anyone but the corrupt NYPD NOT see this as a hate crime?
Maybe the driver should not have tried to steal from the passenger?