NYC Sikh driver attacked, abused by drunk youth

New York: A 25-year-old Sikh cab driver in the US was assaulted and his turban knocked off by drunk passengers, an incident the police was investigating as a possible hate crime. The incident took place here early on Sunday and has left Harkirat Singh, an immigrant from Punjab who moved to the US three years ago, scared.

“I’m so afraid. I don’t want to work,” Mr Singh told the New York Daily. “It’s an insult on my religion, also. An insult of my faith. It’s horrible.”

The report said the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in his support.

Last week, Sikhs in the US launched a campaign aiming to inform Americans about the Sikh faith. Mr Singh said he picked up three men and a woman — all in their 20s — at 5 am on Sunday from Madison Square Garden. When they reached Bronx, they began complaining that he had taken them to the wrong address. The passengers were allegedly drunk and could not give Mr Singh a straight answer about where they wanted to go, leaving him “confused.”

The passengers then began hurling slurs and banging on the plastic partition in his cab.

“After that, they picked off my turban from my head,” he said. “They wanted to snatch my phone also... It was too horrible.” He then called the police,  following which the group fled.