Sikh Man Beaten And Called 'Bin Laden' In Alleged Hate Crime [Graphic]
By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Sep 10, 2015 3:00PM
Police are investigating the beating of a Sikh man who was called a terrorist and Bin Laden Tuesday night in Darien.
Authorities have released few details about the assault of Inderjit Singh Mukker, though they said they're investigating it as a hate crime, according to the Chicago Tribune. The incident seemed to begin as an incident of road rage that escalated, according to the Chicago Sikh American Association. At one point the suspect allegedly yelled at Mukker, who is identifiably Sikh with this turban and beard, "Terrorist, go back to your country, Bin Laden!"
The association released a statement about the incident as well as a photo of Mukker after the incident:
Mr. Mukker, a U.S. citizen and father of two, was on his way to the grocery store on S. Cass Avenue when the verbal taunting was initiated. Mr. Mukker turned onto Cass Avenue, but was repeatedly cut off by the driver. Mr. Mukker pulled over to the side of the road to let him pass, but the driver instead pulled in front of his car and aggressively approached Mr. Mukker’s vehicle. The assailant then reached into the car and repeatedly punched Mr. Mukker in the face, causing him to lose consciousness, bleed profusely and suffer a fractured cheekbone and a laceration to his cheek. He was rushed to the hospital, where he received six stitches, treatment for lacerations, bruising and swelling. The suspect is in custody.
No charges have yet been filed in the attack and the suspect was also hospitalized for unknown reasons, police told NBC Chicago. Mukker was treated and released from the hospital.
"We believe Mr. Mukker was targeted and assaulted because of his Sikh religious appearance, race or national origin," the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director Harsimran Kaur said, in a statement. "We request an immediate investigation and call on local and federal agencies to investigate this attack as a hate crime."
The organization notes that Sikhs have been the target of hate crimes since the 9/11 attacks 14 years ago. In 2012, a white supremacist fatally shot six people and wounded four others in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.