'He's from India': Man allegedly attacked by group of teens after they asked where he was from

AN INDIAN MAN was allegedly attacked by a group of teenagers in Citywest, Co Dublin after they asked where he was from.

Arunabha Ray, an Irish citizen who has been living here for ten years, told The Journal that he was approached by a teenage boy while out for his evening walk in Carrigmore Park on Saturday 4 July.

Ray said the teenager stood in front of him and asked him where he was from. When he answered that he was from India, Ray said the teen shouted at his three nearby friends.

“He called the other three teenagers and said ‘he’s from India’”, Ray said, adding that the group then surrounded him and began attacking him.

“They surrounded me and started throwing punches. The first punch landed on my face, then there were probably ten punches on my face, but luckily I put my hand on my eyes while they were punching.”

The 36-year-old accountant said he managed to run to a nearby house, and the people inside let him in and gave him a drink of water.

“They said that you’re lucky that your phone and your belongings didn’t get stolen,” he said.

He said he doesn’t understand the motivation behind the alleged assault as it was unprovoked and didn’t involve theft.

“Normally there would be an argument or something that could lead to a fight. To just tell your nationality, and then people come in punching, that’s not justification for a fight,” he said.

“If I had said some other country, then I probably would have been safe.”

“I didn’t find it a problem to tell the kid that I am from India, it’s not like we are enemies or anything, but if that triggers an assault…  People cannot change where they are from.”

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Gardaí confirmed they are investigating an alleged incident of assault in Carrigmore Park, City West, Dublin 24 that occurred on Saturday 4 July at around 8.20pm.

Ray said the alleged attack left him bleeding from the mouth, with bruising and swelling across his face and pain in his right eye.

Ray’s GP sent him to the emergency department of the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital to check the damage to his right eye. After a thorough examination, doctors were satisfied the inside of his eye had not been torn.

He said the physical and emotional pain from the alleged attack left him unable to sleep and has led to him taking a week off work to recover.

“I couldn’t sleep because of the swelling on the right eye and also on the lips and the bridge of the nose. I faced mental trauma as well, and was having sleep problems,” he said.

Summer attacks

Ray says some Indians in Ireland believe there is an uptick in attacks during the summer months. 

Last summer there was a spate of attacks against Indian people, which led to the Indian embassy in Dublin warning citizens to “take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours”.

“The behaviour of teenagers has changed overnight. If you pass those guys in the month of December or January, they won’t do anything,” Ray said.

Ray said that he no longer feels safe enough to visit Carrigmore Park or walk in his local area at any time of the day. 

“It was bright sunlight [at the time of the attack], so I didn’t feel that it was a wrong time to go to that park,” he said.

“I have gone on a daily basis for the last six months. Last Saturday was a very unfortunate day for me.”

Ray believes something needs to be done to tackle such behaviour in teenagers during the summer months, and prevent it from ”spoiling the image of Irish society.”

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