Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has taken up with the New York City Department of Correction the issue of alleged religious discrimination against an elderly Sikh man, who was asked to remove his turban when he visited a correctional facility in New York to meet his son. Gurbhej Singh Sandhu visited the Rikers Island correctional facility on numerous occasions since February 2012 to meet his son, who was serving a sentence at the facility, a statement issued by United Sikhs said.
Sandhu was made to remove his turban every time he went to meet his son even though he explained to security officers that the turban is an essential part of the Sikh identity and removing it is a humiliation and a denigration of the Sikh faith, the statement by the rights group said.
Sandhu had to comply with the orders of the security officers, who said he would not be able to meet his son if he did not follow their orders.
The United Sikhs legal team sent a letter to the city’s correction department, seeking an explanation and remedial measures for the “mistreatment” of the elderly Sikh.
“Although safety is an obvious priority for the DOC, the turban does not pose a physical threat, and there are other non-intrusive ways to examine the turban for contraband, such as a metal detector,” the letter issued by United Sikhs staff attorney Manmeet Singh to the DOC said. The group noted that the actions of the security personnel are in contravention of the facility’s policies and procedures, which exempts religious head coverings from its general prohibition of wearing of hats.
The group also filed a complaint with the department of justice civil rights commission who then directed the matter to Bharara’s office.
The U.S. attorney’s office subsequently wrote to the correction department seeking an explanation for their acts.
Bharara’s office asserted in its letter that the removal of Sandhu’s religious headwear potentially violates provisions of the Civil Rights Act as well as the dress code policy of the department, the group said.