“We all have a responsibility to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their actions, no matter where such crimes occur,” it added…reports Asian Lite News
The US State Department has condemned the assault on a Sikh taxi drive outside JFK airport in New York City.
“We are deeply disturbed by reports of an apparent attack on a Sikh cab driver at JFK airport, captured on video last week. Our diversity makes the U.S. stronger, & we condemn any form of hate-based violence,” the State Department said via its South and Central Asia division Twitter account.
“We all have a responsibility to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their actions, no matter where such crimes occur,” it added.
The video of the incident went viral on Twitter where a man can be seen assaulting the Sikh taxi driver outside the airport. It has elicited condemnation of the attack from the Indian communities based in the US.
A January 5 video posted by various Twitter accounts, including by Simran Jeet Singh of the Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute, a think tank, shows a man, who appears to be Sikh cab driver standing by his taxi, being hit by another individual, according to The Hindu report.
The attacker walks away then comes back and starts hitting the taxi driver again. He then hits another individual who questions him. People can be heard shouting in the background, it was reported.
Meanwhile, Indian Consulate General in New York has termed the assault as “deeply disturbing”, and informed that it has taken up the matter with the US authorities and urged them to investigate the incident.
“The assault against a Sikh taxi driver in New York is deeply disturbing. We have taken up the matter with US authorities and urged them to investigate this violent incident,” tweeted the Consulate General of India in New York.
Details about the driver or cause or time of the incident were not available. (with inputs from ANI)