Christian Morales was booked on aggravated
harassment charges as a hate crime for the Sept. 21, 2013, attack in
which a crew on bicycles called Prabhjot Singh 'Osama' and a
'terrorist' before punching him and pulling on his beard.
Columbia University Professor Dr. Prabhjot Singh during a press conference at the university. He was the victim of a hate crime on Sept. 21, 2013.
Cops have arrested a 20-year-old Harlem man they said attacked and harassed a Columbia University professor he mistook for a Muslim, officials said Saturday.
Christian Morales of W. 124th St. was booked on aggravated harassment charges as a hate crime after he was linked to the Sept. 21, 2013, attack in which a crew of goons on bicycles called Prabhjot Singh “Osama” and a “terrorist” before punching him and pulling on his long beard — injuring the man’s face and jaw in the process.
The crew rolled away after three Good Samaritans intervened on W. 110th St. and Lenox Ave., officials said.
Singh is a Sikh and practices the 500-year-old religion based out of India. Sikh men wear turbans and sport long beards because their religion forbids them to cut their hair.
Cops apprehended Morales after doggedly following several leads, officials said. His arraignment was pending Saturday night.