FBI helping probe attack on Sikh man, India concerned

FBI’S SEATTLE OFFICE SAID THE BUREAU REMAINS ‘COMMITTED TO INVESTIGATING CRIMES THAT ARE POTENTIALLY HATEMOTIVATED’

The FBI is helping the hunt by the Seattle police for an attacker who told a Sikh man to “go back to your own country” and shot him — in the second xenophobic attack on Indians in two weeks. India has voiced deep concern and stressed the need to prevent such incidents.

The US State Department has expressed condolences and said they are working on the case.

The 39-year-old victim, a US national of Indian origin, was identified by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj as Deep Rai. He received a bullet injury on his arm in the attack on Friday. The Indian Embassy here tweeted that Indian envoy Navtej Sarna “conveyed our deep concerns to the US government on recent tragic incidents”.

Sarna said India has “underlined the need to prevent such incidents and protect the Indian community” and the embassy was coordinating with “all agencies concerned to ensure speedy justice”. A statement on Sunday from the FBI’s Seattle office said the bureau remains “committed to investigating crimes that are potentially hate-motivated”, the Seattle Times reported.

Sushma Swaraj had tweeted that she has spoken to Sardar Harpal Singh, the father of the victim. “He told me that his son had a bullet injury on his arm. He is out of danger and is recovering in a private hospital,” she wrote.

A 29-year-old Indian-American man was found dead in the US state of New Jersey, an incident which the family has described as a “personal issue”. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Sunday the Indian Consulate here “has spoken to the father of the deceased in Massachusetts. He says this is a personal tragedy for the family.