Teen held for attack on Sikhs in New York, faces hate crime charges

New York, April 15

A 19-year-old youth has been arrested and faces hate crime charges for his alleged involvement in the attack on three Sikhs in Queens here, including the brutal assault on an elderly Sikh tourist early this month.

Vernon Douglas of Brownsville was arrested on Thursday in Brooklyn and charged with multiple counts of robbery, assault, aggravated harassment and hate crimes, the Queens Chronicle reported.

On April 3, Douglas allegedly approached 70-year-old Nirmal Singh and punched him. The attacker fled the scene on foot and the incident was taken over by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force. The images shared on social media showed Nirmal Singh with a bloodied turban, face and clothes.

Singh was a “tourist visiting from India” and he was able to walk back after the assault to the cultural centre where he had been staying since he arrived in New York City.

The Consulate General of India in New York had condemned the assault on the elderly Sikh man terming it as “deeply disturbing.”

The Sikh Coalition said Singh chose to return to India after the attack in order to be with his family. —