Basheer had saved me from assailants in Saudi 25 years ago, recalls his Hindu neighbor

coastaldigest.com news network
January 8, 2018

Mangaluru, Jan 8: 50-year-old Prabhakar, a resident of Akash Bhavan locality in the city left shell-shocked after hearing the death news of his best friend and neighbor Ahmed Basheer on Sunday.

48-year-old, Basheer, who was running a fast food restaurant near Koattara Chowki for past one year breathed his last on January 7 at a hospital, four days after a gang of four miscreants attacked him with sharp weapons on January 3. The attack took place at around 9:30 p.m. when he was returning home after closing his restaurant. Ironically, the only reason for the attack was that he appeared like a Muslim. The assailants, who wanted to kill a Muslim man, did not even know the name of the victim. Two ambulance drivers, who saw Basheer lying in a pool of blood, had shifted him to a hospital.

After working in Saudi Arabia for around 25 years Basheer had quit his job and settled in Mangaluru in 2016 as his family forced him to stop working abroad. Later he had purchased a house in Akash Bhavan and opened a fast food restaurant in partnership with one of his relatives.

Both in Saudi Arabia and Mangaluru he had friends from different faiths. Prabhakar, who belongs to Hindu community is one among them. He is not only a neighbor of Basheer in Mangaluru, but also had worked with him for 15 years in the Arab Kingdom.

Prabhakar recalls that Basheer had saved him from a group of expatriate Muslims, who wanted to attack him in 1993 in Saudi Arabia.

“The intended attack was, perhaps, in retaliation for communal violence in Dakshina Kannada district after demolition of Babri mosque. It had spread its ugly wings to the gulf nation as well. I was cornered by a group of assailants. But, Basheer stood by my side and warned the assailants of dire consequences if they tried to harm me,” Prabhakar said.

"Prabhakar is our man, nobody dare touch him," a teary-eyed Prabhakar recalled Basheer as saying when the mob came to attack him. “The group eventually left and it is because of him my life was saved,” he added.

“Basheer was known for humanity. He mingled freely with all people, irrespective of their caste or religion. He never sent anyone who approached him for financial help empty-handed. His loss is huge shock to me and my family,” said Prabhakar.

Comments

mohammad.n
 - 
Tuesday, 9 Jan 2018

Thank you Mr. Prabhakar, people like you make us feel that we have peace loving hindu friends around us. That was a brotherly gesture in humanity. I hope such relations increase so that evil minded people get decreased.

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Media Release
April 7,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 7:  In the wake of COVID-19 lockdown in the country, a delegation from Highland Islamic Forum, Mangalore headed by Rizwan Pandeshwar, HIF Ration Kit Co-coordinator met Mangalore South Constituency MLA Mr. Vedavysa Kamath, Mayor Mr. Diwakar and MCC  Opposition Leader Mr. Abdul Ravoof on 6th April with an aim to join their hands with our local authorities in a bid to serve the daily wage earning families in and around Mangalore, during this emergency period. HIF delegation included Secretary Ausaf Hussain, Executive members Nazim SS, Adel Parvez, Nabeel Kudroli and Saleem Makkah.

HIF delegates handed over 300 COVID-19 Emergency relief ration kits to these local authorities, of which 100 each will be distributed to the poor in their respective areas among all faiths irrespective of caste or religion. The ration kits included grocery items and other essential commodities.

HIF Delegation said that Highland Islamic Forum is a prestigious charitable organization in Mangalore operating in the undevided D.K. District since last 8 years offering their hands to the poor and needy families of all faiths like food for the orphans, blood to the patients, water during the crisis time, relief supplies during floods, medicine to the patients, ration kits and homes to the homeless.

During the drinking water crisis in 2016, HIF supplied water facilities to more than 1000 families in Mangalore.  Two years back during the flood, HIF provided necessary commodities to the flood victims in Dakshina Kannada District. During the shortage of blood in Mangalore hospitals, HIF arranges blood donors camps and provide the blood to the patients.  HIF spends one day with orphans every month. HIF charitable activities have been well recognized by the kind hearted people in Dakshina Kannada District.

MLA Vedavysa Kamath, Mayor Diwakar and Mangalore City Corporation opposition leader Abdul Ravoof lauded the selfless efforts of HIF team in serving the poor and needy families in the society.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Eminent scientist and NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat said on Monday the number of COVID- 19 cases is not going to go beyond what's being reported daily in India as he maintained that the country is in the process of flattening the curve.

The former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister said the coronavirus positive cases have seen a sharper rise in the last four-five days because of increase in the number of testing.

"It's a good sign; all those asymptomatic cases lying hidden they are also coming out," Saraswat told PTI. "We certainly had a catalytic factor which was basically this (Nizamuddin) Markaz problem which has actually created clusters at different places and that has also been one of the factors for the kind of rise that has taken place."

But he said India is in a much better shape compared to other nations in the battle against COVID-19. "I can only say that the rate is not going to go beyond what has been going on now, may be 700 to 800 cases per day. So, we are in the process of flattening the curve."

The government's decision to declare nation-wide lockdown has paid dividends, Saraswat, a former chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, said.

Noting that India has seen a series of virus attacks in the last 15-20 years including Chikungunya and Dengue, he said the emphasis now should be on more and more R & D to find vaccines in advance.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 29,2020

Bantwal, Jun 29: Seven SSLC students, who were on their way to write the examination, were injured in a road mishap near Panemangaluru on Monday.

According to sources, the auto-rickshaw in which the students were travelling overturned causing them injuries.

All the injured were students of Shambur Government high school.

Police said the accident took place as the driver lost control over the vehicle.

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