Washington, February 17: A Sikh Uber driver claimed that he was held at gunpoint by a male passenger, who asked him racial questions regarding his national origin and his allegiance to the US.
According to The Huffington Post, the driver, Gurjeet Singh, a religious leader from northwestern Illinois, said the incident occurred on the night of January 28, when he picked up a man and a woman, the Sikh Coalition said.
The man started him questions such as “Which country do you belong to?” and “Do you serve our country or do you serve your country?” A “confused and scared” Gurjeet, who speaks limited English, explained that he served both the US and India and was an Indian since his parents lived in India.
The man then pulled out a gun and pointed at him. “I hate turban people; I hate beard people,” he exclaimed.
The woman “forcibly removed” the man from the vehicle. She apologised for his behaviour and told Gurjeet to drop her home and to avoid taking the same route back to rule out another encounter with the man.
Gurjeet allegedly informed the police about the incident on January 29. However, the male passenger has not yet been arrested or charged.
“We do still remain concerned that no arrest has been made and the state Attorney’s office has yet to file hate crime charges,” the Sikh Coalition’s legal director and Gurjeet’s lawyer Amrith Kaur said in a statement.
An Uber spokesperson said it had removed the rider’s access to Uber and was “fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”
“Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination on the app, and we have reached out to the (driver) to offer our support,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Gurjeet came to the US to serve the Sikh community in the Quad City area on the Mississippi River three years ago as a granthi. His lawyer said he was a legal resident in the US and had started driving with Uber to supplement his income, along with his religious duties.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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