Pensioner who ‘never killed a cockroach’ died in apparent New York parking space dispute

A gentle retiree from Queens who literally never harmed a mouse killed in a random argument According to police reports, with a stranger in a parking lot.

Police are still searching for the man who beat 76-year-old Mohammd Zaker Hossain outside his accountant’s office on April 5, knocking him to the ground and delivering a fatal blow to his head. He died three days later.

On Sunday, dozens of Hossain’s friends and loved ones from the Bangladeshi and Muslim communities gathered at 167th St. and Hillside Ave., waving signs and carrying a large banner that read, “We want justice.”

Two days earlier, police released photos of his alleged attacker and asked the public for help finding him.

“He’s the person, how can I tell you – if I see a cockroach over there and I tell him, ‘Kill him, kill that cockroach,’ he just lets it go. He will say, ‘How can I kill?’ He never killed a cockroach,” his widow, Shamema Akhtar, 60, told the Daily News.

Hossain showed his pacifist streak when a mouse invaded their Queens home and his wife urged him to take it outside and kill it. Instead, he released the tiny pest in a nearby park.

“I was so angry that I yelled at him! He says, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK.’ They won’t come back to the house.’ He didn’t kill the (mouse),” she said.

Hossain’s gentle nature did not spare him on April 5, when he apparently saved an on-street parking space for his accountant, according to police sources.

That angered a man who wanted the spot – he got out of a black four-door sedan with tinted windows, then punched Hossain and pushed him to the ground, knocking the retired restaurant manager unconscious, cops said.

The attacker got back into the limousine and fled.

“I miss him. My advantage is down. I can’t close my eyes. I see him next to me. I see he’s still in the kitchen,” said his widow. “Midnight, I feel him next to me. I I feel like he’s by my side… I don’t want anyone to go through the same thing.”

Hossain was attacked the same day a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck the region, his wife recalled.

Akhtar, a chemist, said she was working in her office in Long Island City and he was on his way to his auditor’s office, about 10 blocks from her home. He was fasting for Ramadan, she noted.

“At 2:30 p.m. he called me, ‘Hey, I’m in the CPA’s office, but he’s not in the office,'” she said. Akhtar told him to just hand his tax return to the accountant’s assistant, but her husband decided to wait outside instead.

Hossain and his accountant Mahmudul Hoque withdrew from working on the victim’s taxes so that Hoque could move his car, the taxman said.

They left his office, Hoque tried to move his car, then came back as he was unable to do so due to traffic and was shocked to find Hossain on the ground. He noted that he did not ask the victim to save a seat for him.

“I didn’t see who pushed him,” Hoque told The News on Sunday. “There was blood on the back of his head. He fell on his back. We discovered he was in a coma.”

Paramedics arrived to take Hossain to Jamaica Hospital with head trauma. Akhtar received a call that her husband had fallen and may have suffered a stroke.

She rushed to the hospital and found him intubated. “I touch him, I hug him, I stay with him,” she said.

Then the police showed up and asked if they suspected anyone.

“I said, ‘No, I don’t suspect anyone. He’s probably fasting, he just fell down.’ The policeman said, “No, someone pushed.” I said, “No, no one will push him.” He is the person, if you kick him, he won’t say anything. He’s that kind of person.’”

She added: “They said, ‘No, that’s the truth. Someone pushed him.’”

The next day, police provided her with more details and what they knew about the attack.

“He was never afraid. I told him, “Don’t go out, it’s dark.” He would say, “Nobody will touch me.” “Nobody will hurt me,” she said. “He said, ‘No one will harm me.’ I have lived here in this country for 40 years. Nobody will touch me.’ He wasn’t afraid.”

Akhtar was also surprised to hear reports that he had been attacked over a parking lot.

“Totally wrong. I’ve known him for 35 years. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t argue with anyone,” she said.

Akhtar and Hossain came together through an arranged marriage 35 years ago, she said. He came to the US first and she followed him two years later.

Hossain would send his earnings home to feed the poor in Bangladesh and help finance a house for orphans.

“He sent all the money to the country, to the poor people,” she said. They had no children.

More than 700 people came to his funeral, offering words of comfort and telling Akhtar that he was heaven-bound because he died during the fasting month of Ramadan.

“Everyone said he was going to heaven. Everyone says, ‘Don’t worry, don’t cry for him.’ He’ll go to heaven.’”

On Sunday, members of the neighborhood’s Muslim community gathered next to Akhtar to demand justice.

“We are Americans. We need justice for all of us,” said Imam Rafiqul Islam.

Mohammed Fakrul Islam Delwar, president of the American Bangladeshi Business Alliance, added: “He was a friend to many… This community is a very peaceful community.” At the same time, we agree and will not rest until we have an answer as to how “It happened and the perpetrator was arrested.”

At some point, NYPD Captain Mo Tsang, the commanding officer of the 107th Precinct, addressed the crowd.

“I am sorry for the loss of Mr Hossain,” he said. “I know this is a tragedy and a heinous crime, and I promise we will ensure justice.”

Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Hoque said he and the victim had been friends for more than 30 years.

“I hope they catch him,” the accountant said of the attacker.