UK police probes ‘racially aggravated' attack on two elderly Sikh men

The British Transport Police (BTP) has made three arrests as it investigates a suspected racially aggravated attack on two elderly Sikh men outside Wolverhampton train station in the West Midlands region of England.

A video of the attack last week has been circulating online as community groups expressed their shock and appealed for the local members of Parliament to intervene.

BTP said a 17-year-old boy and two men, aged 19 and 25, were arrested in connection with the incident, with videos showing the turban of one of the Sikh men being targeted.

The incident happened on August 15.

“I do not underestimate the level of concern this incident has caused to the victims and their families, the local community and beyond,” said Superintendent Sue Peters, BTP's local policing commander for the railways covering the Midlands region.

“In the interests of reassuring the community, I can confirm that BTP officers responded very quickly to make three arrests after the 999 call was made and an off-duty BTP Chief Inspector also stopped to assist.

“One 17-year-old boy and two men aged 19 and 25 were arrested in connection. They were taken into custody and later released on bail. The incident is being treated as racially aggravated,” she said Tuesday.

The police chief said that witness statements, CCTV and social media enquiries are ongoing as part of a “thorough investigation” as she revealed that a number of officers were also treated for minor injuries sustained during the course of the arrests.

The two victims have been approached for their statements, which BTP said had taken some time following the incident because of the injuries the men suffered and the shock it caused them.

Peters added: “We arranged a suitable time to speak to them in accordance with their families' wishes, with the ongoing welfare of the victims being our number one priority. There have been some reports circulating that say the delay was caused by resourcing issues – this is not accurate.

“More widely we are engaging with our local MP, the Sikh community, as well as the Sikh Police Association, to listen to their concerns. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour on the railway network and will be continuing our swift investigation.”

Sikh Federation UK is among the groups appealing for West Midlands Indian-origin MPs Warinder Juss and Sureena Brackenridge to intervene over what they fear is an increasing number of incidents of anti-Sikh hate crimes.

The elderly Sikh men are said to be local taxi drivers who were on duty outside the station when they came under attack.