Updated:
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Aug.10, 2004: Five indicted in beating of Rajinder Singh Khalsa for a broken nose- If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison
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July 30, 2004: Four more men arrested in Sikh Rajinder Singh Khalsa beating
Rajinder Singh Khalsa, 54 yrs old suffered multiple cuts,
bruises and a broken nose.
New York, July 13, 2004
NRI Group
Gurcharan Singh, who owns a restaurant 'Tandoori Express,' said they had left the car on the street and were walking towards the restaurant where they intended to have tea.
On 101st Street at 6 p.m. when a group of men standing outside of the catering hall began ridiculing their turbans. Singh said his attackers appeared to be drunk.
"They said, 'This [turban] is my curtain. Give it to me,'" said the cousin, Gurcharan Singh, 51. "I said, 'It's not a curtain, it's religious.'"
Khalsa said he tried to explain to them that they were not Muslims, but covered their heads because of respect for God.
Gurcharan Singh said the men got angry and told them to go back to their country. He said five or six people then started punching him. When his cousin told them to stop, the attackers then assaulted his cousin before fleeing.
According to Gurcharan Singh, the verbal insults turned into violence when he said he would call 911, the police emergency telephone number.
He called the police anyway but by the time, ambulance and police arrived, Khalsa had been beaten into unconsciousness.
Salvatore Maceli, 26, of 31 Ethel Ave., Valley Stream was arraigned Monday night at Queens Criminal Court on charges of assault in the third degree as a hate crime and aggravated harassment in the second degree, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.
He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. He made the $3,500 bail and has a return date of July 26.
Singh, of Richmond Hill, was treated overnight at Jamaica Hospital and released. Monday, Singh recounted the attack as he pointed out the fractures and bruising on his face. He said the pain he felt was overshadowed by the sadness in his heart over the fact that the attack occurred in a country known for equality.
Sikh community protested Tuesday outside the 102nd Precinct station in Richmond Hill.
The Sikh protesters also demanded more be done to protect them from bias crimes and that police try harder to build a relationship with their community.
"I feel pain, but more than pain, I feel very sad," he said. "We are suffering by the discrimination in the land of Lady Liberty. ... We think it should not happen here in America."
They criticized the Police Department's response to the Sunday beating of Rajinder Singh, 50, in Richmond Hill. They accused the police of not being aggressive enough, arresting only one person - a Long Island man - when protesters said five to six people were seen attacking Singh.