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A few days after a Sikh political asylum-seeker from India was released by immigration authorities from a detention center in Phoenix, Arizona, Daljeet Singh, 30, felt somewhat relieved and boarded a Greyhound bus Feb. 21 to travel to Indianapolis, hoping to have an “iconic American experience” through parts of the Southwest.
But Singh, a turbaned Sikh, had little idea what was in store for him during the bus ride. Singh, who speaks little English, met a fellow Sikh from Pakistan named Mohammed Chotri, on the bus, and the two engaged in small talks on the bus.
The conversation between two bearded men sitting next to each other and speaking in a language that was Hebrew to fellow passengers raised suspicion among many of them. One of them claimed to police that she heard the two of them discussing “a bomb” and were “acting weird”.
Singh said, according to Sikh Coalition, that in Amarillo, Texas, several passengers began regarding him with suspicion, behaving aggressively and taking his photographs. After the bus left Panhandle city, two passengers restrained him in his seat and police arrived and ordered him to step out. Singh was arrested and jailed for approximately 30 hours. A bomb squad was called to check the bus and a section of Interstate 40 was closed. The coalition said that during that time, local news outlets linked Singh’s name to terrorism charges.
Singh was, however, released without charge after being interviewed and cleared by the FBI and local police.
“The only crime I committed was wearing a turban, having a beard, and speaking in a different language to another brown man on a bus,” Singh said in a statement. “I still cannot believe that this happened to me in America,” he said.
“When you actually see something you should say something,” said Sikh Coalition Senior Staff Attorney, Gurjot Kaur. “However, what happens when you see nothing and concoct a story; that is completely baseless because you don’t like the color of someone’s skin, their religious headwear, and the fact that they speak a different language. There must be consequences when bigotry and xenophobia trump common sense on a bus deep in the heart of Texas,” she said. The coalition has filed a complaint in Potter County against the first passenger for knowingly filing false charges against Singh, and an additional complaint against two other passengers who unlawfully detained him on the bus.
Thanks to an election year, the arrest and harassment of Singh also figured in Winning Democrats website. It posted the story prominently April 30 which said in the opening line: ‘A Sikh man is rightly raising h*ll to Texas authorities.’
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been widely criticized for his anti-minority invective, especially against Muslims, during his election campaign.
Several readers commented on the post. One reader, Daniel Guillot, commented: “LAND of the cowards and home of the SCARED……That man was not even a Muslim!”
The post Sikh Arrested On Terrorist Suspicion During Bus Ride Seeks Justice appeared first on News India Times.
