LONDON – A video showing a Sikh man being brutally beaten up on a crowded street in Birmingham, the UK’s second-largest city, went viral on Internet, prompting the police to launch a probe into the suspected hate crime.
The video, titled ‘Singh Brutally Beaten in Birmingham’, was posted online on the ‘Daily Sikh Updates’ Facebook site. It shows the Sikh man desperately trying to protect his face as a man punches and kicks him while a crowd looks on.
“It is unknown why the Singh was attacked, but the suspects are on the loose. A person can be seen on the doorway unconscious and probably the first victim of the attack. The bystanders refused to help the two victims until a person from the crowd comes in towards the end of the video,” the website said in its appeal for information.
The police have urged the victim to come forward, as they investigate if the attack which took place on Sunday was religiously motivated.
“We are aware of a video posted on the Internet which appears to show a man being assaulted on Broad Street in Birmingham on Sunday, March 29. It has been suggested the attack was religiously motivated. We would like to reassure people we take such reports extremely seriously and the matter will be fully investigated,” a police spokesperson said.
“We are currently making inquiries to establish exactly what has happened but at this stage, nobody has come forward to tell us they’ve been assaulted.
“I would encourage the man who appears to be the victim in the video to contact us, along with anyone else who was there at the time and can give us any details.”
On the ‘Daily Sikh Updates’ site, one individual posted: “How many against one? No one there had the courage to step in. Shame on all the people that stood and watched.” Another asked: “Why is someone filming when they could be helping or at least trying to stop it? This is in front of a hotel reception — why didn’t the bouncers stop it?”
