Turbans worn by dead man and wounded friend may have made extremists think they were Muslims
 |
| Rich Pedroncelli / AP Harvinder Singh comforts his daughter, Navi Kaur, during a news conference discussing the murder of his father, Surinder Singh, held in West Sacramento, Calif., Monday. |
WEST SACRAMENTO, California — The daily stroll had become routine for two elderly Sikh men in a Sacramento suburb, as well as for neighbors and friends accustomed to seeing the men walk by with their long beards and turbans.
But the traditional head-wear might have singled them out late last week when they were gunned down, one fatally, in what police are investigating as a suspected hate crime.
On Monday, local religious leaders pleaded for the community to come forward with leads but also said they will not be deterred by violence.
"Our community will continue to wear our turbans proudly," said Navi Kaur, the granddaughter of Surinder Singh, 65, who died from his wounds.
His friend, 78-year-old Gurmej Atwal, remains in critical condition.
They were walking through their neighborhood in Elk Grove, just south of the California state capital Sacramento, Friday afternoon when someone in what witnesses described as a pickup truck opened fire.
Police said they have no suspects nor any indication the shooting was a hate crime, but said the turbans could have made the elderly men a target of extremists.
During a news conference Monday at a Sikh temple, a spokesman said the recent violence has scared some temple-goers into concealing any indicators of their religion.
Sikhs often are mistaken for Muslims and have been the subject of occasional violence across the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"The enemies of the United States don't wear turbans in the United States," said Amar Shergill, a Sikh leader and attorney. "They don't want to be singled out. The result is that Sikh Americans since 9-11 have borne the brunt of violent hate crimes."
Sikhs draw particular attention because of their traditional beards and turbans, which are mistakenly associated with Islamist terrorists.
'It is getting ugly'
Shergill said Monday also marked the start of a trial involving a confirmed hate crime against a Sikh.
He is the attorney for a Sikh cab driver beaten four months ago by passengers who shouted anti-Islamic slurs at him in West Sacramento, which sits across the Sacramento River from the state capital. The two defendants pleaded no contest Monday to felony assault.
As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, several people at Monday's news conference drew links between the Sacramento-area crimes and national and international developments.
From unrest in North Africa to congressional hearings on radicalization of Muslims in the U.S., speakers warned of an increasingly hostile climate.
"It is getting ugly," said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "And like I said, who suffers the most is the Sikh community because of unfortunately people's ignorance."
The Elk Grove police department said last week's shooting would be the first targeting Sikhs in the city if it turns out to be a hate crime.
Police also said they would meet with FBI officials, a routine move when a hate crime is suspected.
On Monday, police said they are looking for a tan or beige Ford F150 pickup truck made between 1999 and 2003.
Meanwhile, a dozen groups have collected nearly $30,000 in reward money for information about the shootings.
Singh, a truck driver, had worked in India and Libya before moving to the United States about five years ago, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Atwal, the other victim, is a retired civil servant who worked in the revenue department of northwest India's Punjab state before moving to the U.S. in 2001.
The two were neighbors who became friends when Singh moved to Elk Grove three years ago. They would have tea in the morning, set out for a walk, return for lunch, and then go out again.
They knew just enough English to say, "Hi," to passersby and met other retired Sikhs at a nearby park.
"They were total gentlemen," said Lakhvinder Singh, a family friend.
© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
------ Related story ----------------------
FBI joins in probe of attack on two elderly Sikhs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fbi-joins-in-probe-of-attack-on-two-elderly-sikhs/759481/
A troubled Sikh community shocked by the shooting of their two elderly members today offered a reward of USD 30,000 for any information leading to the culprits, as the local police said they suspected it to be a hate crime and have called in the FBI to join the manhunt.
The West Sacramento Police in California said they suspect that the tradition turbans worn by the Surinder Singh, 68, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, could have become beacons for an attack on them.
"Because they sported the turbans they might have been singled out," the police said. The Elk Grove police department said that last week's shootout would be the first targeting the Sikhs in the city if it turns out to be the hate crime.
They also said FBI had been called in as it was suspected to be a hate crime.
While Singh died on the spot, Atwal is still reported to be in a critical condition and a deeply shocked community in the area have joined together to offer a reward of USD 30,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the culprits, who shot the two on March 4.
This amount is over and above the USD 5,000 reward offered by a top Islamic body, who strongly condemned the attack.
Sikh men in beards and turbans are often targeted for discrimination by bigots who mistake them for Muslims, the Council on American-Islamic Council-Sacramenton Valley's Executive Director, Basim Elkarra said.
"The Muslim community offers its condolences and support to the Sikh community in this time of sorrow, he said.
About 100 religious leaders, including ones from the Sikh community gathered at a Gurudwara in California, announcing a rise in the award money to informants that would lead to arrest of those responsible.
Not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime, police has made no arrests so far in the case.
Investigations have revealed that the assailants used a tan or light brown 1990 to 2003 Ford F150 pickup truck for shooting at Singh and Atwal on Friday evening, when the two neighbors were on their daily evening walk on Elk Grove Sacramento, California.
The community and other organizations have offered a reward of USD 30,000 for the arrest and apprehension of the suspect, said Darshan Singh Mundy, spokesman of the Sacramento Sikh Temple, where a press conference was held yesterday.
It was attended by the Elk Grove Mayor, Steve Detrick, State lawmakers, Mariko Yamada, and Roger Dickinson; Basim Eleanora, executive director of Sacramento chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Ami Bera, the former Congressional Candidate for the 3rd District.
The Speakers expressed concern over the attacks on Sikhs in the area.
"In racial attacks, Sikh-Americans with turbans and full beards are often mistaken as Talibans. We are very disturbed by the recent violent attack in our community," Mundy said.
Gurjatinder Singh Randhawa, chief editor of the regional Sikh newspaper, Punjab Mail USA and head of the NRI Front USA, said this was the second such incident against the community in the area.
The first one was about four months ago in which Harbhajan Singh, a cab driver, was shot dead, in West Sacramento, he said, adding, the assailant has been arrested.
"We urge the Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, to take up the matter with the US Government," he said.
Kashmir Singh, UNITED SIKHS Director from California said that the community in California was visibly shaken by the incident.
"Sikhs are targeted because of their external religious identity, which is ignorantly equated or linked to terrorism. Needless violence occurs because of a gap in knowledge about who Sikhs really are," he said.
The UNITED SIKHS legal team has contacted Members of Congress, US Attorney's Office in California, and Department of Justice regarding the incident.
----------------------------