Melbourne Uber attack: Father Laddy Lahora ambushed by thugs armed with baseball bats at his driveway in Springvale
- Father attacked in an Uber by a gang of men armed with bats
- He thinks he was attacked for videos he posted online
A father who was brutally attacked by a group of thugs in front of his children has revealed why he believes the incident was targeted.
Laddy Lahora, 44, was attacked as he was returning to his home in Springvale, south-east Melbourne, in an Uber around 6:30pm on Saturday.
The group of five men, some with baseball bats and others with wooden stakes, began smashing the windows of the carpool when it pulled into the driveway.
The horrifying attack was recorded by one of the perpetrators and posted online, showing Mr. Lahora being hit on the back of the head by one of the men.
The group is seen hitting the car, with broken glass covering the vehicle.
Mr. Lahora and the driver scream in fear as they are attacked from all sides. His children were inside the house and looked horrified through the window.
Lahora believes he was targeted for the videos he posted on TikTok in support of an independent Sikh state in India.
Heartbreaking footage shows car windows smashed as Lahora and her Uber driver take cover from attackers.
The father revealed that his “really scared” children were watching the attack from behind a window inside their home.
‘They (wanted) to kill me. They said, “Kill him, kill him,” Lahora told 7News.
His neighbor, Dilpreet Singh, watched from a safe place as the attack took place.
“The Uber driver was also bleeding and couldn’t even walk properly, like that was really bad,” he said. 7News.
The 34-year-old driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while Mr. Lahora received a large bruise on his left inner thigh.
The Uber driver’s car was also badly damaged, with numerous windows broken and panels smashed.
Victoria Police confirmed that the criminals fled the scene in unknown vehicles.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing, police urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
A Melbourne father recounted the moment he was attacked by a group of thugs wielding baseball bats as he was driving home in an Uber (pictured)
The father, Laddy Lahora, 44, (pictured) believes he was attacked by a group of Indian men for his beliefs about an independent Sikh state in India.
Mr. Lahora believed the group was all from India and attacked them for their beliefs in a separate state for Sikhism.
The Sikh separatist movement, called the Khalistan movement, emerged in 1940 after the British left India and the nation became independent.
The Khalistan movement wants to reestablish an area previously controlled by the Sikhs in the Punjab area of India, with numerous protests and demonstrations around the world in recent years.
The two groups had previously clashed in Melbourne’s Federation Square in January, leading to police intervention and two arrests.
Sikh separatists could be heard chanting “death to India” before pounced on India supporters and attacked them with flagpoles.
The groups met at Federation Square as it was a polling site for a non-binding referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan.
One man had to be treated for a severe head laceration, while another sustained a hand injury amid the chaos.
