A Sikh physician who was beaten by a mob that mistook him for a Muslim spoke to reporters about the ordeal on Monday through his surgically re-wired jaw — and thanked a group of good Samaritans in Harlem who got between him and his hate-filled attackers.
“There was a nurse who lived across the street [and], an elderly African- American gentlemen who told them to get lost, and two other people,” Probhjot Singh, 31, said at a press conference less than 48 hours after the assault. “I can’t imagine what might have happened if they weren’t there.”
Police on Monday released a video of possible suspects in the Saturday night attack and aꦜsked anyone to come forward with information. The cliꦉp shows a group of more than a dozen youths on bicycles.
Singh said he’s working with hate-crime investigators to nab the esti꧋mated 25 to 30 young teen-agers who jumped him near West 110th Street and🃏 Lenox Avenue moments after he had dropped off his wife and 1-year-old son at home. Screaming “terrorist” and “Osama,” the pack of thugs – some on bicycles – chased him down and repeatedly punched him until bystanders intervened.
Singh didn’t recognize any of hi🎉s attacker but said he “certainly” forgives them, d💮escribing them as “14- and 15-year-olds” acting on messages they pick up from the community and the culture in general.
Asked if he’s become afraid of his neighborhood, he replied, “I don’t know. Its been two days.” But he said, “If anything, this incident makes me want even more to work with the community.”
Singh, who is also a Columbia University professor, penned a newspaper op-ed last year warning about growing anti-Sikh violence in America, including incidents motivated by misp🧔laced anger at Muslims.
Two other Sikh activists joined Singh at the press conf🏅erence♔ at Columbia. Amardeep Singh of the Seek Coalition said that anti-Muslim thugs who see a man in a beard and a turban and automatically think, “Osama bin Laden,” is an all-too-common occurrence,.
“He is the face of o🗹ur faith☂,” said Amardeep Singh.