New Delhi: On Tuesday, two Sikh men were allegedly assaulted in the Richmond Hills neighbourhood of New York City, a suspected victim of a hate crime.

New York’s Indian Consulate General denounced and spoke with the authorities investigating the assault, calling it “deplorable.”

According to reports, police have arrested one person in connection with the incident.

Ten days before today’s attack on two guys, another member of the community was attacked there.

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@MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @NYCMayor @EdMermelstein @IndianEmbassyUS pic.twitter.com/Ws5NhHl0uV

— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) April 12, 2022

According to local media sources, two individuals are suspected of beating the guys with a pole and removing their turbans.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, condemning the attack, tweeted: “Another hateful attack against our Sikh community in Richmond Hill.

Both individuals who were responsible must be brought to justice. Anyone with information about this should immediately contact @NYPDnews.”

Jenifer Rajkumar, the first Punjabi American elected to a state office in New York, stated that there has been an increase in the number of Punjabis in the state “alarming 200% rise in hate crimes against the Sikh community in recent years”.

“I spoke to the NYPD soon after both of this week’s incidents against my Sikh American family. I am calling for both incidents to be investigated as hate crimes, and that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Ms Rajkumar said in a statement.

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My statement on today’s assault of two Sikh-Americans in Richmond Hill pic.twitter.com/nzPz6hxxwT

— Jenifer Rajkumar (@JeniferRajkumar) April 12, 2022

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“We will educate all on Sikh culture so that everyone know as I do the generosity and kindness embedded in the Sikh American community,”  Ms Rajkumar, who is a former Director of Immigration for NY State, added.

Delhi-based Sikh politician Manjinder Singh Sirsa asked for a probe into the suspected hate crime after releasing a video of the two Sikh men.

2nd attack on 2 Sikhs within 10 days exactly at same location in Richmond Hill
Apparently, targeted hate attacks against Sikhs happening in continuation. We condemn this in strong words. These shd be investigated & perpetrators must be held accountable @IndiainNewYork @USAndIndia pic.twitter.com/Ld0RIxIeNn

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) April 12, 2022

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Ten days after an elderly Sikh guy was assaulted in the same place, another Sikh man has been beaten.

After the attack on April 4, images of the old Sikh man with a bloodied turban, face, and clothes were published on social media.

The attacker allegedly called the Sikh cab driver a “turbaned people” and told him to “go back to your country,” according to reports from JFK International Airport in New York.

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