Hyderabad, July 16 (IANS) In an alleged hate crime, a man from Hyderabad was stabbed multiple times in a shopping mall in the United States.

According to information reaching the family of Syed Sohailuddin, he is in critical condition after being stabbed by a man in Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, Utah.

The assailant reportedly asked the victim if he was a Muslim before stabbing him more than 15 times.

Sohailuddin, 37, was running a kiosk in the shopping mall for the last two-and-a-half years.

Some bystanders overpowered the assailant and took his knife before police arrived. He was identified as Peter Michael Larsen, 48. He allegedly told police he targeted the Muslim victim and intended to kill him.

The incident occurred on July 13. Disturbing visuals of the attack were widely circulated on social media.

The victim has been admitted to a hospital in West Valley City and is reported to be in a critical condition.

The family of Sohailuddin, a resident of the Toli Chowki area here, has appealed to the government to immediately intervene in the matter. They have requested Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar to take up the issue with the US authorities and arrange visas for them to travel to the US.

Sohailuddin’s wife, Amreen Firdouse, fainted on learning about the attack. The couple has two children, aged five and three years. His sister-in-law, Asma Firdouse, requested the External Affairs Minister to take up the issue with US authorities and issue an emergency visa to at least two family members.

Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) spokesman Amjed Ullah Khan called on the family members of Sohailuddin. He wrote to EAM Jaishankar to direct the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C., to immediately reach out to Syed Sohailuddin, coordinate with the concerned authorities and extend all necessary consular assistance and support to the injured Indian national and his family.

Khan has also requested the minister to take up the matter with the Embassy of the United States in New Delhi and the US Consulate in Hyderabad for the issuance of emergency humanitarian visas to the close family members of the victim.

–IANS

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