BOSTON — Police arrested three men accused of hogtying, beating and stabbing a pizza delivery man because they mistakenly believed he was Muslim.
Saurabh Bhalerao, 24, was attacked late Sunday while delivering pizza in New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston.
The suspects originally intended to rob Bhalerao, but escalated the assault because they believed he was Muslim, said Fairhaven Police Chief Gary F. Souza.
The attacks continued as Bhalerao, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, explained that he was Hindu.
"He pleaded with his attackers," Souza said. "They were using disparaging remarks ... and telling him he should go back to Iraq."
The suspects put the victim into the trunk of his own car and, during the drive to the neighboring town of Fairhaven, Bhalerao managed to loosen his ropes.
