Sikh-American brutally assaulted in alleged hate crime in US

October 8, 2016

New York, Oct 8: A 41-year old Sikh-American IT specialist was brutally attacked by some men, who knocked off his turban and allegedly cut his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, prompting a civil rights organisation to demand a hate crime investigation into the incident.

Maan Singh Khalsa, a father and IT specialist in California, was driving home on the night of September 25 when a group of men in car threw a beer can at his vehicle.

"Khalsa drove away from the scene but the men followed him and assaulted him through his open car window, knocking off his Sikh turban and hitting his face repeatedly," according to a statement from The Sikh Coalition, the nation's largest Sikh civil rights organisation.

Khalsa said there were "five to six white males in their late 20s to early 30s" who abused him and three of them then attacked him physically.

Shouting that Khalsa's hair should be cut off, the men pulled his head out of the window, and cut a fistful of his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, the complaint alleged. Khalsa sustained injuries to his fingers, hands, eye and teeth.

The Sikh Coalition has written to the Richmond Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office on behalf of Khalsa, urging authorities to conduct a hate crime investigation and prosecution in the case.

"The attackers caused physical injuries and deep harm when they targeted my Sikh faith," Khalsa said in a press statement released by the Sikh Coalition."I urge a thorough investigation so we can address the tide of violence and bigotry in this country."

Sikh Coalition Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur urged authorities to fully investigate "this hateful attack" on Khalsa and his Sikh identity.

"The purpose of a hate crime investigation and prosecution is to ensure that our government and communities accurately account for the problem of bias in our society," Kaur said.

The Sikh Coalition said that in the 15 years that have followed 9/11, Sikhs remain hundreds of times more likely to be targeted in cases of profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American.

"We need to acknowledge hatred so that we commit the resources necessary to stem bias-based violence," Kaur said.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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