London: Local police in Edinburgh has confirmed that the attack against an Indian which left him with a fractured jaw was racially motivated.
The 21-year-old Indian, a shop assistant named Pankaj Rawat, was walking with a friend on Saturday night when they saw two men arguing with a woman.
Rawat told Edinburgh Evening News: "I saw two Scottish men shouting at a woman. One of them was pushing her and trying to kiss her, and she was shouting for help."
Rawat attempted to assist the woman when one of the suspects punched him on the side of his head. Three other men then joined the group and became involved in the dispute. The second male who had also been arguing with the female then struck the victim to the head, knocking him to the ground. "I told them to leave her alone or I would call the police. The man who was pushing the woman came over to me and asked where I was from. I told him I was from India and he started shouting "b****** Indian b****** at me," said Rawat.
"I told him I didn't want any problems, but he couldn't do that to a woman. He kept making racial comments then he punched me on the side of the cheek. He punched me a second time and I fell to the ground."
After that, all five men and the woman then disappeared.
A police spokesman said, "This has been an appalling assault levied against the victim for no reason other than his race and his efforts to come to a young woman's assistance...we are keen to speak to anyone who was on or around Waverly Bridge at about 3:40 am and may have witnessed the assault.
Rawat moved from India to Edinburgh 18 months ago; a metal plate has been fitted to his fractured jaw.
But his story gets worse. The shop where he worked has fired him because he needed four weeks off to recover from his injuries. "I was released from the hospital on Monday and I'm still in lot of pain. I have painkillers to take and I need to stay on a liquid diet. I lost my job, though because they weren't able to give me the month off," he says. PTI
