Police are appealing for new information seven months after an imam was blinded in one eye following an attack in a Hull street.
Hafaz Rahmat Aziz Salik was injured in November after a stranger flagged down his car on Spring Bank West, opened the door and punched him in the face. He was with his wife and daughter at the time who were both uninjured.
Police have made no arrests in the case and have described the investigation as “stalled”.
Mr Salik said he hoped the new appeal would provide a breakthrough in the case. “I hope that somebody will come up,” he said. “Because I trust the community and the community are very helpful, truthful and faithful.”
Det Sgt Philip Pitts from Humberside Police described the assault as a “cowardly and unprovoked attack on a peaceful family man”. He said officers were looking for two men and a woman seen on CCTV in the area at the time.
The imam’s son, Zia Salik, said the family was frustrated about the lack of progress in the police investigation. “I don’t think there was a realisation of the gravitas of the situation,” he said. “As to what impact it would have in the community.
“The contact from the local MP Alan Johnson, he spoke to the head of the police, and councillors got in touch and the community members got in touch, and I think that kind of speeded things up. My concern is that shouldn’t have to happen.”
Det Sgt Pitts described criticism of the investigation as unfair. He said: “At the time the attack took place we did take that very seriously, as we do all cases of violent crime. Officers were deployed and subsequently further officers from the CID and the local policing team were deployed.”