New York: The state department of the United States said that they were deeply disturbed by reports of an attack on an Indian-origin Sikh cab driver at the John F. Kennedy international airport and condemned any form of hate-based violence, adding that perpetrators of hate crimes should be held accountable for their actions, no matter where such crimes occur.
The Sikh taxi driver was assaulted by an unidentified man, who knocked off his turban and also used expletives against him outside the JFK International Airport here, according to a video on social media.
The updated 26-second video was uploaded by a Twitter user, Navjot Pal Kaur, on the micro-blogging site on January 4, showing a man assaulting the Sikh taxi driver outside the airport. She said the video was shot by a bystander at the airport.
State department’s bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), in a tweet, said, “We are deeply disturbed by reports of an apparent attack on a Sikh cab driver at J.F.K. airport, captured on video last week. Our diversity makes the U.S. stronger, and we condemn any form of hate-based violence.”
“We all have a responsibility to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their actions, no matter where such crimes occur,” SCA tweet read.
The state department’s reaction came after the Indian consulate general in New York termed the assault on the Sikh taxi driver as “deeply disturbing and said it has taken up the matter with US authorities and urged them to investigate the violent incident.
“The assault against a Sikh taxi driver in New York is deeply disturbing. We have taken up the matter with US authorities and urged them to investigate this violent incident,” the consulate general of India in New York tweeted on Saturday.
This is not the first time a Sikh taxi driver has been assaulted in the United States. An Indian-origin Sikh Uber driver was assaulted in 2009 and racially abused in the state of Washington in a suspected hate crime. The driver told the police that he believes his race prompted the attack.
