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Thursday, June 26, 2003

Two men accused of beating Indian pizza delivery man they thought was Muslim

By MARK PRATT
Associated Press Writer

BOSTON (AP): Two men face hate crime and other criminal charges for gagging, beating and stabbing an Indian pizza delivery man they thought was Muslim, a police chief said Wednesday.

Saurabh Bhalerao, 24, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, was beaten, burned with cigarettes, hogtied, gagged and stabbed after delivering a pizza to a New Bedford address late Sunday night, Chief Gary F. Souza of Fairhaven said.

The men originally intended to rob Bhalerao, but intensified their assault thinking he was Muslim, continuing to beat him even as he tried to explain that he was Hindu, Souza said.

"He pleaded with his attackers,'' he said. "They were ... telling him he should go back to Iraq.''

The men put Bhalerao into the trunk of his own car and drove to nearby Fairhaven. Bhalerao managed to loosen his ropes during the drive.

When the car stopped, he came out of the trunk and hit one of the men with a hammer, Souza said. One man stabbed Bhalerao before fleeing, police said.

Bhalerao, who suffered a broken jaw, was listed in fair condition at Rhode Island Hospital Wednesday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Tyrell Tavarez and Ryan Marsh, both 17, of New Bedford, have pleaded innocent to a variety of crimes including hate crimes, civil rights violations, kidnapping and armed robbery.

Christopher Pereira, 20, of New Bedford, was charged with kidnapping and other charges.Two other men could also face charges of civil rights violations, Souza said.

Souza said he was baffled by the viciousness of the attack.

"I have been in law enforcement 20 years and when I see stuff like this I still get outraged,'' he said.

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