Bar owner speaks out after arson attack outside Newtownabbey leaves venue 'completely destroyed'
A bar owner whose premises were torched by arsonists has spoken of having to watch his hard work go up in smoke.
The words "Muslim out" were spraypainted on the property... though Abjan Acharya is in fact Hindu.
Originally from Nepal, he had just converted the menu at The Railway Bar from serving British food to Nepalese and Indian food within the last week or so, and had re-named the restaurant on site "Steam Dining" (complete with a fresh website).
Now the premises on the Ballyclare Road, on the rural outskirts of Newtownabbey, lie in ruins.
Mr Acharya said he had taken over the premises from around March, and it was his first foray into running a bar/restaurant.
"It was my first venue," he said.
"I invested a lot of money in there, but now I'm basically broke after working five months with no pay. It's going to be difficult."
Would he re-open? "This is unlikely because, at this location, it's completely burnt. The building is completely destroyed. There's not even a bottle of Coke. And I had my personal belongings as well in there."
He believes the arsonists used some kind of fuel to start fires at two different locations.As for the "Muslim out" graffiti, he said: "No, we're Hindu. They didn't do their research.
"Since the last five months, we never noticed anything unusual. But obviously someone had that thought in their head."
What will he do now?
"I don't know. I'll be jobless for a while. I'll have to see how it goes here," he said.
"I've nothing in my mind right now."
Mr Acharya had employed 10 staff at the site, and another two more were due to be hired this week.
Aged 32, he lives in Finaghy, south Belfast, with his three-year-old son and his wife, a shopworker, who was left in tears by the fire.
He came to Northern Ireland 17 years ago, and has a degree in construction management and a masters' in real estate.
His father had been in Belfast for about 20 years and worked in the hospitality industry.
Finding it hard to get work in his chosen field, Mr Acharya came across the chance to buy The Railway Bar and took it.
Asked what message he'd have for those who torched the place, he said: "They need to be wised-up."
An arson attack on a restaurant in Co Antrim , which is believed to have been racially motivated, has been condemned as "deplorable".
Graffiti was also reported at the premises in the Ballyclare Road area of Newtownabbey in the early hours of Wednesday.
In a statement, police said they received a report at around 1.50am that the premises had been set alight.
"Colleagues from Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service attended and dealt with the fire, which is being treated as deliberate ignition," they said.
"Inquiries are continuing and at this stage, the incident is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime.
"Police would appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the incident, to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference number 68 21/08/24."
North Belfast MP John Finucane described the attack in Newtownabbey as "sickening and deplorable".
He added: "This business operates to serve our community and employ workers. It is totally unacceptable that it has been targeted in this way.
"These disgusting and disgraceful attacks which are fuelled by racism, hatred and discrimination have no place in our inclusive and forward-looking society.
"Those intent on causing hate and stirring up division must face the full force of the law, and I would appeal to anyone who may have information on this incident to bring it forward to police."