UK: Outrage As Police Reach Out 48 Hours After Brutal Attack On Elderly Sikhs, Three Arrested

A viral video from Wolverhampton, showing two elderly Sikh men being brutally assaulted in broad daylight has sparked outrage,

The Sikh Federation (UK), a leading Sikh rights body, strongly condemned the incident, calling it a racist hate crime and criticising the UK government and police response.

The attack took place last Friday (15 August), around 2 pm outside Wolverhampton train station, the Indian Express reported.

Both victims, local taxi drivers who have lived in the UK for more than 30 years, were reportedly approached by three white men demanding a ride to Oldbury.

According to the Sikh Federation, one of the drivers said the men were rude and abusive. He explained that bookings had to be made from the taxi rank, but the group refused to listen.

Instead, they continued swearing and hurling abuse at him before the situation escalated into violence.

The statement added: “They then stepped to his face and started pushing him and within seconds he was being assaulted and punched… His dastaar (turban) was removed… When a colleague came to his aid, the group also attacked him. He has several broken ribs and is having difficulty breathing.”

British Transport Police later arrested three teenagers in connection with the case. However, the Sikh Federation criticised the authorities for their slow response.

It pointed out that despite several witnesses and CCTV footage being available, officers only contacted the victims more than 48 hours after the attack. The group also noted that no one from victim support had reached out even after such a brutal incident.

Dabinderjit Singh, the group’s lead for political engagement, linked the violence to divisive rhetoric. “Keir Starmer… needs to accept he has unwittingly unleashed a level of hate with his irresponsible ‘island of strangers’ immigration speech,” he said.

Jas Singh, its principal advisor, added: “These two elderly men are traumatised… This incident must be treated as a religious and racially aggravated hate crime… The UK Government needs to urgently address Anti-Sikh hate.”

In a separate incident highlighting rising concerns over racially motivated violence, Indian-origin cab driver Lakhvir Singh was assaulted in Ballymun, Dublin. Singh, who has lived in Ireland for 23 years, said two young men attacked him near Poppintree in what he described as an unprovoked assault.

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