Elderly Sikh man assaulted in possible NYC hate crime

New York: An elderly Sikh man was reportedly assaulted here over the weekend, as authorities said they are in touch with local police for further information on the incident, the second such since January this year. 

Identified as Nirmal Singh by the Sikh Coalition, the man was left bruised and covered in blood, evidenced in a photo of the incident that has gone viral, sparking rage on social media. According to NBC News, Singh had only been in Queens for two weeks. 

According to police officials, Singh was on a walk back to his temple when he was suddenly punched in the face around 6:45 AM Sunday “by an unidentified individual.” He then fell to the ground. The attacker did not say anything to him. 

“It was horrific and heartbreaking to see an elderly man in such bad shape,” Gurinder Singh, who saw the victim sitting outside the cultural center minutes after the attack, told CNN. “People come to America to get a better life, but then something like this happens.” 

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards also tweeted that his office is aware of the “incident in Richmond Hill” and is contacting the New York City Police Department to learn more details about this reported attack. 

“Our thoughts are with him and we wish for nothing less than a full recovery,” he said. 

In January this year, a Sikh taxi driver was assaulted at the JFK International Airport here, with the attacker allegedly calling him “turbaned people” and to “go back to your country.” 

Image courtesy of (Image courtesy: nypost.com)

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