M A I N   N E W S

Assaults on Sikhs on the rise in Britain
Sanjay Suri

London, October 6
Assaults on Sikhs and Muslims in Britain are on the rise, according to community leaders, despite condemnation and assurances from Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Most of the cases of assault are not being reported to the police for fear of reprisals, community leaders say. Victims and witnesses are far too terrified to give evidence in an open court, they say.

In one recent incident in Ilford, east of London, two Sikh girls were seriously assaulted as they walked down a street in daytime, Mr Gurjit Singh Rahi, who is monitoring the incidents involving Sikhs, told IANS.

“Both girls received bad injuries, and they are still being treated,” he said. The family wanted to keep the incident quiet and had not made a complaint to the police, he said.

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard told IANS that they had been given information about two Sikh girls being assaulted in Ilford. “When we checked we found nothing,” she said.

In another incident reported by community leaders, four Muslim girls were assaulted near Finsbury Park in north London last week. The girls were reported to be between 11 and 15 years of age. The police spokeswoman said the force had no knowledge of the incident.

A delegation of community leaders met senior police officers earlier this week and told them about incidents of attacks that are not being reported to the police, Mr Rahi said. The police have since been instructed to remain alert against assaults on minorities.

“Harassment of Sikhs and Muslims is becoming almost routine. The present atmosphere is becoming an excuse for racist attacks,” Mr Rahi said. “It’s no longer a case of mistaken identity.”

Soon after September 11, when terrorists struck New York and Washington, there were incidents where Sikhs were attacked because they were mistaken for radical Muslims due to their flowing beards and turbans, Sikh leaders said.

Mr Rajinder Bains, a shop assistant in Kensington, said Sikh and Muslim workers who travelled long distances were now reluctant to come in. “Some have asked to come for two or three days a week instead of six,” he said.

Mr Jagdish Singh of the Sikh Community Action Network alleged that the government was focusing on attacks against Muslims without paying enough attention to the attacks on Sikhs.

In some cases, Mr Jagdish Singh said, road rage was being directed at Sikh drivers. People are being abused and assaulted on the streets, he said. IANS

Sodhi’s murder: Man pleads innocent

Phoenix, October 6
Frank Roque, 42, has pleaded innocent to charges that he gunned down an Indian-born Sikh at an Arizona gas station out of racial hatred sparked by the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, court officials said.

Several Sikhs were attacked in the USA after apparently being mistaken for Afghans or possible supporters of Osama bin Laden, the main suspect in the September 11 attacks that left nearly 6,000 people dead or missing. Reuters