(Image source from: Elderly Sikh attacked in US)

An elderly Sikh has been attacked by two persons in the US state of California. The incident, appeals the police to initiate a "hate crime" investigation.

A report in the Fresno Bee said that,  Amrik Singh Bal, a 68 year old Sikh was brutally attacked in the Fresno area of the California state.

According to Greg Noll, Fresno police Sergeant, the incident took place during Saturday morning, when Bal was waiting on the road for a ride. Suddenly two white men stopped their car in front of him and start shouting obscenities, Bal tried to escape but the suspects followed and hit him. They hit him on his face and upper body  after that, Bal fell to the ground.

The report said that, one of the suspects shouted “ why are you here”.

Bal was taken to nearby hospital after the assault. He suffered serious injuries on his nose, hand and a broken collar bone.

Fresno police Sergeant, Greg Noll said that, the police is gearing up to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to solve the case and they have launched a "hate crime" probe.

Earlier, a couple of weeks ago, a Gurudwara in California destroyed. A Sikh-American was assaulted in September. An 82 year old, Piara Singh was attacked by a man outside the Nanaksar Sikh Temple in 2013. Six innocent Sikh people have been killed during the attack on a Gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin during 2012.

Ike Iqbal Grewal,  member of the Sikh Council of Central California, said that, "Sikhs have been mistaken for terrorists and radicals and continue to suffer after 9/11. This is the latest episode of what Sikhs have been enduring. They are very peace-loving and hard-working citizens of this great country and not members of al-Qaida or ISIS or any other radical group, " he added.

Nandini