70-year-old Sikh man attacked in New York; Police investigating case as hate crime

In an incident being investigated as a possible hate crime, a Sikh man visiting New York from India was attacked on Sunday. 70-year-old in age, the Sikh man identified as Nirmal Singh had only been in the United States for two weeks when he was allegedly punched in the face, leaving him with bloodied nose and face, officials with an NYC Police Department were quoted saying by a global media.

As per the officials quoted, Singh was on a walk when he was suddenly punched in the face around 6:45 a.m. Sunday "by an unidentified individual" at 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens, by an unidentified individual" at 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens. The official added that Singh fell to the ground after the blow and the attacker "did not say anything to him". 

The 70-year-old was taken to the hospital thereafter with a laceration, pain and swelling, the official further informed as the police investigate the case as a possible bias or hate attack. 

'Another example of how innocents are targeted because of hatred'

Meanwhile, a Sikh-American advocacy group that has come to the aid of Nirmal Singh, took to microblogging site Twitter to narrate the incident. Sharing pictures of the injured, bleeding 70-year-old, the United Nations-affiliated group wrote, " Singh’s experience is another example of how innocents are the target of hatred."

Informing that NYPD is investigating this as a possible hate crime, the group added, "We continue to advocate for the victims of hate crimes, discrimination and bullying."

It is pertinent to mention here that the targeting of the Asian American community in the United States has reached some unprecedented levels in 2021. The compilation of hate crime data, published by US' Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, revealed that anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 per cent last year compared to the year before, with New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities surpassing their record numbers in 2020.