On Sunday 15th December, a second attack in a span of less than 15 days had taken place on an Indian origin Sikh Urban driver in California. 57-year-old, Baljeet Singh Sindhu was brutally assaulted and hit with a with a barbeque grill cover in the head in front of his home in the US state of California.
Sidhu, who works as a mail carrier and a Uber driver, was attacked while he was parking his car outside his home near Hilltop Mall, Richmond, California, after finishing his duties, SFGate.com reported.
While he was parking his car, a man came up to his cab and asked him for a lighter. Sidhu said he didn't have one and the man left, but then he returned with another request.
"He asked me and said he had $5 and he needed a ride. It looked suspicious," Sidhu was quoted as saying by the KTVU television station.
He told the man his shift was over. Then the suspect came back a third time and attacked Sidhu, knocked him down and choked. His family believe the attack to be a hate crime, and he was assaulted because of his Sikh turban and appearance, the SFGate reported.
On Wednesday, 18th December, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed solidarity with the Sikh community of the San Francisco Bay Area.
"We condemn this attack and express our solidarity with the Sikh community," said Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of CAIR.
"Sidhu and his loved ones are in our prayers. We urge the Richmond Police Department to investigate a possible bias motive for this incident."
On December 5, an Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver was assaulted and racially abused in the US state of Washington in a suspected hate crime.
