Surat: A young man waiting for his friend outside a shop near Hakim Chichi’s store in Lalgate was allegedly assaulted by three unidentified individuals for having the word “Hindu” written on his bike. The attackers reportedly questioned him, saying, “Why are you here, Hindu? Why have you parked your vehicle here?” before physically assaulting him. The incident was later reported to the police.

The victim, Pradeep Shivshankar Tiwari (31), a resident of Shri Hari Mahadevnagar in Dindoli and employed as a recovery agent, had visited the Lalgate-Chauta area on Saturday night with his friend Ayush Umashankar Shukla and some female acquaintances for shopping.

While his friends went to Chauta Bazaar, Pradeep waited near Hakim Chichi’s medical store with his bike. Around 9 PM, three men allegedly approached and attacked him after noticing religious words like “Hindu” and “Mahadev” written on his bike. Pradeep filed a complaint at Lalgate police station the following day, alleging a hate-motivated assault.

Lalgate police registered a case and launched an investigation. Police Inspector N.M. Chaudhary stated that no leads have been found so far, but the attackers’ identities will be confirmed once they are apprehended. Sub-Inspector S.A. Asari is leading the ongoing investigation.