British police probe attack on Sikh
Wednesday, 01/04/2015
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
LONDON: The Birmingham police are appealing for information after a video surfaced on the internet, showing a Sikh man being assaulted in the city centre.
In a statement, the West Midlands police said the video appeared to have been first uploaded at least six months ago. They added that the motive for the attack remained unclear.
Detective chief inspector Stuart Bill said: “We are aware of this video which, for some reason, is only being widely shared now. This assault could have taken place any time before the video was uploaded and we are currently working to establish if we have any existing crime reports which correspond with what happened.”
Birmingham has a large Indian-origin population.
Bill added: “There are suggestions on the social media that the person being assaulted was attacked because of his religion. However, we are unsure where that allegation has come from as the video itself offers no direct evidence of that being the case.”
Police urged people to remain calm and not jump to conclusions. In the video, the victim can be seen trying to cover his face as a man punches and kicks him during the attack in Broad Street, Birmingham.
A crowd is gathered around the man, but no one tries to help him, Birmingham Mail reported. Facebook users have questioned why the watching crowd did not try to help.
