Cook at Owen Sound restaurant says he saw what led to owner's dine-and-dash death and wants justice
CBC
A cook at the Owen Sound, Ont., restaurant of the owner killed in a dine-and-dash assault more than a year ago says he saw some of what happened and is calling for justice, in a homicide case that police are releasing few details about to the public.
Adnan Hussain said he came to Canada from Bangladesh to work with Sharif Rahman, who had opened The Curry House in downtown Owen Sound in 2015.
In an exclusive interview with CBC, Hussain said he last spoke with police about the case in October 2023, but hasn't heard anything since.
Now, "I want justice — that's all," he said.
The mystery of who attacked Rahman outside the restaurant on that warm August night last year still hangs over the city of about 21,000 people in Grey County.
There's been little information released by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Owen Sound police since Rahman died in a London hospital a week after the attack.
Police announced this Aug. 15 that arrests were made in July, but have been mum on who or how many people were taken into custody or if charges have been laid, raising concerns from a local lawyer and members of the community about the secrecy surrounding the case.
In the interview, Hussain said while he was frustrated before arrests were made, he's now happy there seems to be progress.
When told this week that CBC had spoken to Hussain, OPP would only say they won't identify witnesses. CBC also reached out to the Owen Sound Police Service, but the media officer hadn't provided a response by publication time.
Rahman, 44, a husband and father of one, was attacked on Aug. 17, 2023. Police said it happened during a dispute over an unpaid dining bill.
The bill totalled about $150, said Hussain, and the customers "didn't finish the food at all."
Hussain, who was working in the kitchen that night, vividly remembers closing time, at about 9 p.m.
He had been cleaning up in the kitchen when three men came in together and ordered food. Hussain said he made them tandoori chicken.
When he heard something odd going on at the front of the restaurant, Hussain said, he went to investigate.
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This First Person column is the experience of Mehdi M. Kashani, who lives in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.