Indian-American Uber Eats delivery person stabbed by career criminal in US
New York (PTI): An Indian-American Uber Eats delivery person has been stabbed several times in an attack in the US by a career criminal with more than 100 arrests on his rap sheet, according to a media report.
Bharatbhai Patel was stabbed on the Lower East Side, New York on Tuesday by the ex-con described by police as a "super perp", The New York Post reported.
The Uber Eats delivery man told The Post on Tuesday that the man stabbed him on the Lower East Side without saying a word and bystanders did nothing.
Nobody helped, Patel told The Post.
He killed me here, here, here and here, Patel said, referring to the career-criminal suspect and pointing to his wounds.
He asked nothing. Not, I need money.' Nothing, the report added.
Maybe they need money or something for my bike, he said. But the guy asked me nothing.
Patel said he saw around three people near him during the 3 am attack who did nothing to help leaving him to call 911 himself, the report added.
He speculated that the people may have been drunk.
Maybe three people near me? They drink for alcohol. And the one lady, the bus, they were right there (I) see the people, but nobody helped.
All the time police there, he added. But this time, no police.
Patel, 36, the married father of a 6-year-old son who lives in Queens, was on Allen Street near Rivington Street when deranged suspect Sean Cooper who has 103 previous busts under his belt grabbed his e-bike, the man and cops were quoted as saying by the report.
Patel clung to the bike and was stabbed multiple times, with the attacker then fleeing.
The delivery man was treated at Bellevue Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Cops later arrested Cooper, a 47-year-old career criminal with more than 100 arrests on his rap sheet and charged him with assault in the brutal attack.
Patel said he was surprised by the attack, and recalled feeling pain.
Law enforcement sources said Cooper, whose nickname is Big Coop, is so well known to police that he's earned the moniker of super perp, the report said.
Copper was most recently arrested on September 18 on grand larceny and five petit-larceny charges, police said.
He was ordered held on USD 10,000 bail at his Tuesday night arraignment, with the judge citing, in part, his open warrants and past felony convictions.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
