Sardar Nirmal Singh was walking around 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill when a stranger punched the elderly man in the nose. This blow to the face left 70-year-old Sardar Nirmal Singh bleeding uncontrollably as he was rushed to the hospital. Police are investigating this incident as a possible hate crime.
The incident of the attack became viral by the afternoon of April 3 because of photos that were posted by Gurinder Singh, an engineer from South Richmond Hill who volunteers who to make seva, or food for those in need, at The Sikh Cultural Society. Singh stumbled upon Nirmal bloodied on a bench three feet away from the temple.
Images shared on social media showed Singh with a bloodied turban, face and clothes, which shocked the Sikh community in North America and in India.The photos show blood on the sidewalk, Nirmal Singh’s face, hands, jacket and turban and scuff marks on his knee.
The Consulate General of India in New York has condemned the assault on an elderly Sikh man here, terming it as “deeply disturbing”, and said they were in touch with the police who are investigating this heinous hate crime.
The Consulate tweeted that it is “deeply disturbed” by the incident.
“We condemn the violent attack and are in touch” with the New York Police Department and local authorities who are investigating the matter. We are also in touch with local community organisations to ensure the well-being of the victim,” the Indian Consulate General said in a tweet on Monday.
US Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) spoke to the police about the assault and said via Twitter, “There will be zero tolerance for violence against the Sikh community in my district.”
“The violence is horrific and needs to end,” said the speaker on Twitter. “We stand with our Sikh community, our neighbors. We must come together to root out the hate that leaves too many communities feeling unsafe.”
New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig is investigating the case.
“Together in every community, we denounce violence in our city—and the person(s) responsible will be apprehended,” Sewell said.
The police have asked anyone with information about the attack to call the department.
A report in Spectrum News NY1 said that Singh was allegedly repeatedly punched on the face by an unknown attacker around 6.45 am on Sunday.
According to Singh’s translator Harpreet Singh Toor, the attacker “approached” Singh from behind and fled the scene, the report said.
The news report added that Singh is a “tourist visiting from India” and he was able to walk back after the assault to the cultural centre, where he has been staying since he arrived in New York.
Singh was transported to a local hospital where he had been receiving treatment, the report said.
According to media reports Community-based civil and human rights Sikh organisation have reached Singh to offer him with free legal aid.
