A brute busted for a string of anti-Muslim hate crimes four years ago was nabbed again this week for allegedly targeting another Muslim woman on a Queens train – beating her so badly that she fractured her nose, cops and prosecutors said.
Naved Durrni, 34, stormed up to the 55-year-old hijab-wearing woman on board a Jamaica-bound E train passing through the 75th Avenue station around 4 a.m. Wednesday and snapped, “Where are you from? Are you Muslim?” according to a criminal complaint.
When the victim responded that she was in fact Muslim, Durrni repeatedly punched and slapped her in the face, head and neck area, and even kicked her in the face, the court papers said.
The victim was treated at a local hospital for fractures to her nasal and orbital bones, and bruising and swelling, the complaint said.
Meanwhile, the attacker – who wore a black Mets cap, a black du-rag, a black jacket over a red collared shirt, black pants with a white belt and black Timberland work boots – took off but was arrested a few blocks away, according to cops and the court doc.
He was charged with hate crime assault and aggravated harassment, and ordered held without bail by Judge Michael Katz during his Thursday morning arraignment.
Durrni is no stranger to the criminal justice system – he has a total of six prior arrests, including a disturbing history of randomly attacking Muslim victims in Queens in June and July of 2021, authorities said.
In one case, he allegedly targeted a couple walking at Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard – punching a 31-year-old man and tugging on the 24-year-old woman’s hijab, the Queens DA’s office said at the time.
He also allegedly snatched a box the woman was carrying, and snarled, “Mohammed was a liar,” prosecutors said.
In the second attack, he yelled the same anti-Mohammed statement as he approached another couple on Inwood Street – punching a 56-year-old woman in the face and head, fracturing her nose, the DA’s office said.
Then he allegedly bumped a 38-year-old woman into the street on Sutphin Boulevard near 94th Avenue, again seething “Mohammad was a liar” and “Jesus tells the truth,” prosecutors said.
When the victim tried to call 911 on her cell phone, Durrni allegedly pulled out a knife and pointed it at her, the DA’s office said.
He was initially ordered held without bail pending a psychiatric evaluation, The Post reported at the time.
The reason for his release following the hate crime spree was not immediately known, but prosecutors say that in 2022, he was convicted of second-degree aggravated harassment.
He will reappear in court in connection to the new case on Monday.
