Warren police are investigating a city planning commissioner and three of his brothers after they were accused of brutally assaulting a Bangladeshi community leader over political differences.
Planning Commissioner Delwar Ansar, an ally of departing Warren mayor Jim Fouts, was restrained and briefly detained Sunday after he and his brothers allegedly attacked Sumon Kobir, secretary of the Bangladeshi Association of Michigan (BAM), at the Warren Athletic Club.
BAM endorsed a Democratic slate of candidates for council and mayor, most of whom won earlier this month.
Kobir was sent to the hospital with injuries to his face and head.
“Out of nowhere, he and his brothers attacked me,” Kobir tells Metro Times. “It is outrageous. I’m still wearing sunglasses because my right eye was bleeding and bruised.”
Kobir says he was punched numerous times, and one of the brothers held him down while the others assaulted him.
Video obtained by Metro Times shows police restraining Ansar, who is also Bangladeshi, immediately after the alleged assault.
Warren Planning Commissioner Delwar Ansar, an ally of Mayor Fouts, was restrained Sunday after he and his brothers allegedly assaulted a Bangladeshi community leader over political differences. The victim was sent to a hospital. Story coming. pic.twitter.com/xVx5SNe4gK
— Steve Neavling (@MCmuckraker) November 17, 2023
The confrontation occurred while two rival factions in the Bangladeshi community met in hopes of resolving their differences over local politics. Ansar was an outspoken advocate for seven Fouts-backed candidates for mayor and council.
Term limits prevented Fouts from running for reelection.
The new mayor, former state Rep. Lori Stone, whom BAM endorsed, takes office next week.
Kobir says he was attacked when he urged the rival group to stop bringing up old issues.
“I said, ‘How about we talk about the current issue that we discussed?’” Kobir recalls. “I could not even finish that sentence. They pushed me to the ground and started punching me.”
BAM supported eight local candidates endorsed by the Warren Sterling Heights Area Democratic Club. Most of those candidates won.
“He was a sore loser, and he personally blamed me,” Kobir says.
BAM made national news earlier this year when Fouts’s administration refused to let the group hold its annual Bangladeshi cultural festival on city property because it was “too ethnic.” After BAM threatened to sue, Fouts allowed the festival to go on.
Kobir is calling for Ansar to resign.
Fouts appointed Ansar to the Planning Commission in 2022. Ansar’s term expired on June 30, but he has retained his seat because Fouts did not replace him.
Fouts did not return a call for comment.
Beginning next week, Stone will have the authority to replace Ansar.
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