"They had refused to pay the £8 fee and instead stabbed him"
A Birmingham taxi driver was stabbed in the shoulder and punched in the face in an argument over an £8 fare.
Tahir Imran, aged 38, was working the night shift on July 21, 2020, when he was viciously attacked by passengers as he drove through Digbeth.
According to his wife, the attack came just minutes after he picked up two male passengers from Ravenshurst Street at 2 am.
The pair, who were travelling to Lozells, were asked to pay the £8 fare upfront, however, they refused and instead pulled out a knife.
Mr Imran was stabbed in the left shoulder and punched in the face before the attackers ran from the scene on Bradford Street.
His brother-in-law Habib Rizwan, who had been on the phone to Mr Imran at the time of the attack, alerted the police who soon arrived at the scene.
The taxi driver works for 247 Cars in Acocks Green. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he remains. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening or life-changing.
Due to Coronavirus restrictions, his family have been unable to visit him. Mr Imran’s wife Nargis said she has been left devastated.
Nargis, who lives with her husband and five children in Sheldon, said:
“My husband picked up two males travelling from Ravenshurst Street in Digbeth to Lozells. Because they were travelling after midnight, it is the company rule to take an upfront fare.
“The car had moved only yards, to Bradford Street, when the passengers set upon Tahir. They had refused to pay the £8 fee and instead stabbed him in the shoulder.
“My husband’s brother was on the phone to him at the time and heard everything.
“He called the taxi company and the emergency services and we rushed down to Bradford Street. When we arrived there were about ten police cars, but my husband had already been taken to hospital.
“Why couldn’t they leave him? Why did they have to stab him?
“He’s been a taxi driver for ten years and there’s been a lot of disputes over fares but never anything involving a knife.”
“He’s still in hospital. We’ve been able to speak to him over the phone but not visit, which is heartbreaking.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be happy with him doing a night shift again. Assaults like this are life-changing and I couldn’t live without him.”
West Midlands Police confirmed they were aware of the incident.
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