North American Punjabi Association concerned over student's detention in US over kirpan

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Jalandhar, September 25

The United States-based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has strongly condemned the incident in which a Sikh student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was allegedly detained on the campus for wearing kirpan.

Releasing the statement here, NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal, said the whole world knew about the Sikh articles of faith and it’s more than unfortunate to see the North Carolina Campus Police at the university detaining a Sikh youth for carrying his article of faith.

He said post 9/11 attacks in the US, Sikhs were living under the shadow of insecurity. The Sikh community had lost several lives and their property was damaged, too. Chahal said if the police force started mistreating Sikhs, then who would save the Sikhs from hate crimes? A viral video shows that the US police tried to take the kirpan away from a Sikh youth and later detained him when he resisted.

Chahal said, “We strongly condemn the incident and urge the US police’s senior authorities to take serious action against the cops who detained the Sikh Student due to the wearing of his articles of faith.”

Chahal also urged the Government of India to take a serious note of the incidence.