London: An Indian-origin youth in Britain was brutally assaulted along with other family members in a violent attack outside a popular Indian restaurant. Accountant Preet Panesar, 23, suffered a severe eye injury and was bludgeoned to the ground with baseball bats and tyre irons by a gang of seven unidentified men in the parking lot of Akbar’s restaurant in Britain's Birmingham city Wednesday, the Birmingham Mail reported on Monday.

His friend, 23-year-old Jagdeep Sira, was also beaten and left in a pool of blood with severe knee injuries.

Both of them were rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston area of the city. Panesar’s elder brother, 29-year-old Hardep, managed to escape, leading his wife Shelly and Jagdeep’s sister, Jaspreet, to safety, the report said. The sudden attack shocked the entire family, who described the assailants as Asian and aged between 18 and 25. The police managed to arrive at the spot shortly after the incident.

The West Midlands police said that it searched for a silver vehicle driven by the gang. "We are currently studying CCTV and interviewing witnesses. We would appeal for anyone with information to contact us," the report quoted police as saying Monday. Hardep, who runs a cleaning company, said the family was simply out for a family meal and did not face any issue with anyone. "What happened was totally unprovoked. Nothing happened before, nothing happened on the road, we had never seen these people. There was no argument," said Hardep.

According to Hardep, two vehicles pulled up late Wednesday night as the family was getting into their car after dining at the restaurant. The armed gang of seven simply got out of two cars and began hitting and kicking. "Me and my wife managed to escape -- my first reaction was to get my wife to safety, but they were hitting and kicking Preet again and again for about three minutes before speeding off," Hardep added.