Another gurdwara in US becomes target of hate crime
Monday, 19/11/2012
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/Another-gurdwara-in-US-becomes-target-of-hate-crime/articleshow/17252261.cms
AMRITSAR: Barely three months after deadly attack on Wisconsin gurdwara in US that left six persons killed, another Sikh gurdwara became victim of hate crime after a white male reportedly entered the parking lot of a gurdwara and scratched parked cars and hurled rocks on the young children.
Staff Attorney, International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy , United Sikhs, (Sikh NGO) Manmeet Singh informed TOI on Saturday that last Sunday at around 12.30pm, a white male between the age of 17-22 entered the parking lot of the Norcross , Georgia gurdwara and started scratching the parked cars with a very sharp object.
"When some kids and youth playing in the parking lot raised an alarm and tried to stop him, he started throwing rocks at them which left one of the kids injured " he said.
He said the assailant managed to escape after the incident.
"Surprisingly all expensive cars in the parking lot were targeted," he said adding that a complaint was filed in this regard with Gwinnett county police.
He said one of the community leaders Surinder Singh informed that "a white male entered our property and damaged a lot of cars during our prayer time. He has malafide intentions and we need to know whether this was done out of hate. I have a strong suspicion that hate, especially because of our distinct identity, was the reason behind this."
Manmeet said that the estimated damage to the cars was around $10000. He said that this incident came shortly after the massacre in Wisconsin and should not be taken lightly.
The Sikh community has demanded justice be met and that law enforcement acknowledge these acts as hate crimes against Sikhs possibly due to their identity. He said they had advised the community to stay vigilant as it has been evident for a while now that these incidents were happening in public, surprisingly during rush hour and the gurdwara managements had been encouraged to ensure that functional security cameras were installed on their premises.
Notably California has declared November 2012 as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.
