- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
A Sikh student from India was attacked last week by some unidentified men in the province of British Columbia in Canada in which his turban was ripped and he was shoved by his hair across the sidewalk.
According to a report by The Quint, Gagandeep Singh, 21, was returning home on Friday (17) — which was also St Patrick’s Day — from a grocery shop when he was targeted by a group of 12-15 people. They were in the same bus in which Singh was travelling.
Mohini Singh, councillor of Kelowna city in British Columbia, later said that she heard about the attack and visited the Indian student. According to her, Singh’s religion and the fact that he is from India “undoubtedly” played a role in the attack, the report added.
“I entirely believe this is racism, and it should be treated as that. It should be looked at through the lens of being a hate crime. This is so wrong on so many levels. This is not something that is acceptable anywhere — not in Kelowna, not anywhere,” the councillor was quoted as saying.
She added that Singh was harassed by the group in the bus and “threw the wig at him”.
She also said that the group was not deterred despite the Indian asking them not to bother him and warned of calling the police.
He was followed by the group even after got off the bus and assaulted him once the bus left.
“…then they swarmed him, they beat him in his face, in his ribs, arms, and legs and then proceeded to grab his turban, pull his hair and drag him,” according to the councillor.
She said the group took Singh’s turban “as a trophy” and left him unconscious in a mound of snow on the road side.
Singh managed to call a friend after regaining his consciousness and the latter called the emergency services after reaching him.
The Kelowna Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they were probing the incident where someone was “hit from behind and assaulted” by a group at a bus stop on Friday, The Quint report said.
While the police gave no details about Singh’s injuries, authorities said that responding officers found him “laying on the ground,” adding that paramedics took him to a hospital.
Spokesperson Constable Mike Della-Paolera said, “The Kelowna RCMP take this very seriously and are concerned that this type of crime has happened in our city,”
Councillor Singh said the incident has left the Indian’s friends and other international students shaken.
During a gathering at the bus stop two days after the assault, these students expressed fear over the alleged lack of safety, the report added.
