Sikh man attacked with hammer in US

New York, May 4

A Sikh man was attacked with a hammer by a Black assailant who shouted at him “I don't like you” and “you’re not the same skin” at a hotel in Brooklyn here, prompting a prominent New-York based advocacy group to call on investigators to examine if the assault was a hate crime incident.

Sumit Ahluwalia, 32, of Astoria said his assailant was fuelled by racial hatred, according to a report on New York Daily News website.

Ahluwalia said the man assaulted him on April 26 at his workplace, the Quality Inn, in Brownsville. He said the man came into the lobby of the hotel around 8 am and started shouting while the front desk lady asked him if he needed help. Ahluwalia stepped into the lobby to speak to the man and look for the hotel security guard. “At that point, the assailant started running towards me very fast and he put his hand in the pocket. I thought he was pulling out a gun,” said the victim.

The attacker said to Ahluwalia, “You’re not the same skin,” and then banged on his head with the hammer. — PTI