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A 27-year-old Bangladeshi man was allegedly assaulted in Glasgow after he refused to give a stranger a cigarette, in what he described as a racist attack.
Ifthekhar Ul Islam, a resident of Airdrie, said the incident occurred shortly before 7am on Wednesday near a Sainsbury’s supermarket on Sauchiehall Street, in Glasgow city centre.
According to Ifthekhar, a Scottish man approached him while he was smoking and asked for a cigarette.
As he had no spare cigarette, the man then asked him to buy him a drink. Ifthekhar said he declined, explaining that he had no cash.
The man then allegedly became aggressive as Ifthekhar tried to leave.
He grabbed Ifthekhar’s backpack from behind and repeatedly punched him in the head and nose.
“I was bleeding from my nose and felt dizzy,” Ifthekhar told local media. He said he shouted for help but no one nearby came to his assistance.
Ifthekhar was later treated at hospital, where doctors reportedly found that his nose had been displaced.
He said CCTV footage of the incident exists and that he plans to hand it over to Police Scotland.
He also said the attacker fled before police arrived.
Police Scotland confirmed receiving a report of an assault on a man in the Sauchiehall Street area at around 6:55am on September 16. An investigation is ongoing.
Ifthekhar has described the incident as racially motivated, although the police investigation will determine the circumstances of the attack.
