Community activist Afsar Khan Sadek robbed and hospitalised
Emdad Rahman
Police were called late Wednesday afternoon after a Bangladeshi man was seriously assaulted and robbed in his Whitechapel store.
Community activist Afsar Khan was brutally attacked by up to ten drunken thugs right after the nation celebrated England’s win over Slovenia. The attackers beat him senseless before escaping the premises with large amounts of cash.
It is not clear what exactly the motive for this attack was, but witnesses say that the all male group were very aggressive and displayed symptoms of heavy drunkenness. One witness said that the “drunk men emerged from a Whitechapel Road pub,” before entering the East End News Store in Raven Row, E1.
“I have no idea why they attacked me,” said Mr Khan from his hospital bed.”My body hurts like nothing else, and I can’t open my eyes to see you. I’m working out who’s who by people introducing themselves or through recognition of their voices.
“At the moment opening my mouth to talk is excruciating.”
Mr Khan suffered several body blows. His face was bruised and so swollen that he couldn’t open his eyes. It was not clear how serious the physical injuries are. The more important question is how long the psychological effects will take to wear off.
”This is indicative of the way our community is being targeted,” said one of Mr Khan’s visitors at the Royal London Hospital where he was taken for treatment.
“People are becoming desensitized towards the plight of innocent people in our community because of the large volume of unjustified onslaughts and attacks on the Muslim community.
“Take the Police for example. There were four officers at his bedside, two plain clothed and two uniformed.
“Mr Khan was disoriented and talking about being worried about blood clots on his brain.
“A female unformed officer and a plain clothed one were sniggering at his plea and were exchanging sarcastic glances at each other. I found this pathetic and disrespectful.
“As he was being taken for a scan, one of the uniformed officers even went as far as to say to one of his relatives ‘please take his shoes because I’m not guarding them too.’
I saw one of Mr Khan’s family rebuke this officer because of her lack of unnecessary sensitivity. This is a man who could have been killed. We are thankful that he is not.
“Like I said – people are becoming desensitized towards our suffering simply because we are under constant physical and intellectual attacks.
“If this is the attitude of the Police God knows what else is out there.”
Ali lives in Whitechapel. He said; “It’s scary being a person of colour because there are people raring to get at you. I’m having nightmares of an open season of Muslim bashing coming into effect. I really hope the Police get into gear and solve this pronto.”
Afsar Khan is a long standing local community activist and businessman. During the general election, Mr Khan stood as a councilor in the Brick Lane’s Spitalfields and Banglatown ward. He was not present on election day, having had to fly out to Spain after his younger Brother passed away.
Despite his absence Mr Khan was a popular vote, amassing 561 votes. This was not enough to win him a seat in the Labour stronghold.
A visitor at the hospital LAS attended and treated the man for facial injuries.
At this early stage it is believed a group of up to ten white males entered the shop before assaulting the man, the owner of the shop. The suspects then made off with a quantity of cash (NPTD).
Tower Hamlets Cabinet Lead member for community safety Councillor Abdal Ullah confirmed that officers from Tower Hamlets are investigating the incident. “This is a horrific incident. Afsar Khan is a well known and respected personality in the borough. The Police are working hard to catch the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Rest assured the authorities will deal with the guilty parties using the full weight of the law.
“Mr Khan is not alone - Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this very difficult time.”
A present there are no arrests and enquiries are continuing.
Police are satisfied that this is not linked to recent events involving the English Defence League.
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