NEW DELHI – A brave Indian Muslim man has saved a physically-challenged shopkeeper who was attacked by a thug carrying a sword and threatening to burn the whole place if the owner did not pay extort money.

“Allah gave me the strength to save the man’s life,” Nasiruddin Mansuri, 45, who overpowered a sword-wielding man and saved a shopkeeper’s life, told Mid-Day.com.

“I’m no brave heart. I usually get scared very easily and tend to avert my gaze when fights break out, because I can’t stand bloodshed. I have no idea what got into me that day,” he added.

The incident occurred when a physically challenged shopkeeper was attacked with a sword for daring to raise his voice against a group of druggies who used to extort money from nearly 200 shopkeepers on the threat of violence and arson.

The incident was caught on CCTV footage showing one of the thugs storming into the showroom and slashing Rajnish Singh Thakur, 36, twice before a brave customer manages to overpower him.

Mansuri, a tailor who works in a garment company, had gone to the shop to get a recharge for his phone when Shaikh attacked Rajnish.

“I had gone to the shop to get a recharge, when a man with a sword came out of nowhere and started slashing at the shopkeeper. I had no time to think. I just did what I felt at the time, which was to save a man from dying,” said Mansuri.

“I don’t know where I got that much strength from, because I think of myself as a coward and can’t stand bloodshed. I feel the Almighty Allah helped me overpower the man.

“Islam teaches us to help the oppressed and stand up to oppressors. I think I did what should have been done. It was an act done in the heat of the moment,” added Mansuri.

Grateful

The family of the shopkeeper says they will be forever grateful to Mansuri who saved Thakur’s life.

“We cannot repay Mansuri bhai for what he has done. We have seen the CCTV footage of how he overpowered the man without thinking of his own safety,” said Manish Singh Thakur, the victim’s brother.

“He could have left the shop or could have sat in a corner, as he was just a customer, but he showed exemplary courage and saved my brother’s life.

Though Rajnish suffered injuries to the neck, left hand and waist, his brother, Manish aka Pappu, said he would have been killed if the Muslim customer did not come to his aid.

“We are waiting for my brother to get discharged from the hospital, after which we will felicitate Mansuri bhai and also give him a token of appreciation for his bravery and what he has done for us,” added Manish.

Muslims account for 180 million of India’s 1.1 billion people, the world’s third-largest Muslim population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan.