Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

In Suspected Hate Crime, Muslim Woman In Headscarf Stabbed To Death In US

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Sep, 2016 01:36 PM
    In a suspected case of hate crime, a 60-year-old Muslim woman wearing a headscarf was brutally stabbed to death by unknown persons in New York, nearly two weeks after a Bangladeshi-origin imam of a mosque and his associate were killed.
     
    Nazma Khanam, a former schoolteacher, was on her way home along with her husband Shamsul Alam Khan, 75, after closing their shop and picking up some groceries when she was attacked.
     
    They were just blocks away from their home when the attacker struck about 9:15 pm on Wednesday, New York Daily News reported.
     
    Her asthma-stricken husband found her on a Queens sidewalk in Jamaica Hills with a 4-inch knife lodged in her chest, the sources said.
     
    Ms Khanam, married for 45 years to Mr Khan, have three children. They moved to the US from Bangladesh with her husband and youngest son in 2009. They all became citizens in June.
     
    "Somebody killed me," a mortally-wounded Ms Khanam told her husband as he cradled her in his arms, her blood spilling out onto his hands, relatives said.
     
    She was wearing traditional Muslim attire -- headscarf -- when the assailants struck. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died.
     
    "He (Khan) is screaming and crying, 'My wife just came to this country to just get killed! We had a better life in Bangladesh!," the victim's nephew Humayun Kabir, who is a policeman, said yesterday.
     
     
    The attack prompted Ms Khanam's relatives to denounce the slaying as a hate crime.
     
    "They did not take her phone, pocketbook, bag, nothing. We feel this is a hate crime... We want justice," the victim's another nephew Mohammad Rahman said.
    Investigators, however, believe Ms Khanam may have been the target of a robbery attempt -- even though she was found with all of her possessions, police sources said.
     
    The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is monitoring the probe. The attack was not captured on camera but a man was recorded sprinting away moments later.
     
    Relatives will escort her body to Bangladesh for burial. Kabir's uncle said "We want proper justice for this".
     
    Some in the Muslim community drew parallels to the murder of a Queens imam and his friend in Ozone Park.
     
    A 55-year old Bangladeshi-American Imam at a mosque here and his assistant were shot dead from point blank range by a lone gunman in broad daylight amid growing concerns across America over rising Islamophobic rhetoric.
     
    Police said Imam Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin, 64, were walking home after midday prayers at Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque when they were approached from behind by a male with medium complexion who was dressed in a dark polo shirt and shorts.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    EU Again Delays Decision To Impose Visas For Canadians, Citing Progress

    EU Again Delays Decision To Impose Visas For Canadians, Citing Progress
      The commission says it's now looking ahead to the Canada-EU summit this fall to see more progress on the issue of Canada removing visa restrictions on citizens of Romania and Bulgaria.

    EU Again Delays Decision To Impose Visas For Canadians, Citing Progress

    'They Support Terrorists': Pakistanis Appalled At US Congressmen's Vicious Criticism

    'They Support Terrorists': Pakistanis Appalled At US Congressmen's Vicious Criticism
    Pakistan's denouncing the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir is an "indisputable" evidence of its support to terrorist outfits, US lawmakers have been told.

    'They Support Terrorists': Pakistanis Appalled At US Congressmen's Vicious Criticism

    Canadian Man Held In Thailand After Reportedly Robbing Bank In Singapore

    Canadian Man Held In Thailand After Reportedly Robbing Bank In Singapore
    Local media outlets say David James Roach was taken into custody at a hostel in Bangkok, after travelling to the Thai capital from Singapore.

    Canadian Man Held In Thailand After Reportedly Robbing Bank In Singapore

    Auschwitz Memorial Says Playing 'Pokemon Go' Not Allowed

    WARSAW, Poland — The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum says it does not allow people to play "Pokemon Go" on their smartphones during visits to the former German death camp because it is "disrespectful.”

    Auschwitz Memorial Says Playing 'Pokemon Go' Not Allowed

    Sikh Man Kicked Out Of Wimbledon Queue For 'Making People Uncomfortable'

    Sikh Man Kicked Out Of Wimbledon Queue For 'Making People Uncomfortable'
    Govindpal Kooner took to Facebook last week to voice his anger at being thrown out and claimed it was an act of racism, cases of which have reported a rise in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union 

    Sikh Man Kicked Out Of Wimbledon Queue For 'Making People Uncomfortable'

    Banners On Pak Roads Urge Gen Sharif To Impose Martial Law, Form Govt

    Banners On Pak Roads Urge Gen Sharif To Impose Martial Law, Form Govt
    Interestingly, the banners sprang up in the 13 cities, even in cantonment areas, despite the presence of several checkpoints and extra security.

    Banners On Pak Roads Urge Gen Sharif To Impose Martial Law, Form Govt