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‘You don’t belong in this country’: British Sikh woman raped in ‘racially aggravated attack’
Gurinder Singh Josan, Smethwick MP, called the incident a “truly horrific attack,” leaving the victim traumatised, and urged info to aid the police probe.
The UK Police on Friday launched an appeal for information following the alleged rape of a British Sikh woman earlier this week, an attack being treated as a “racially aggravated assault.”
West Midlands Police said they were called on Tuesday morning after a woman in her 20s reported being sexually assaulted on Tame Road in Oldbury, Sandwell, West Midlands.
“We’re investigating after a woman reported to us that she had been raped in Oldbury in what we are treating as a racially aggravated attack,” news agency PTI quoted West Midlands Police as saying in a statement.
“The woman has told us that a racist remark was made to her during the attack. We are currently treating it as an isolated incident,” the statement added.
The suspects are described as two white men. One is said to have a shaved head, a heavy build, and to have been wearing a dark sweatshirt with gloves.
The second man reportedly wore a grey top with a silver zip. Police urged anyone who may have seen the men to come forward.
The Sikh Federation (UK) said the perpetrators allegedly told the woman during the attack, “You don't belong in this country, get out,” Sky News reported.
Jas Singh, principal advisor to the Sikh Federation (UK), was among the group of faith and community leaders responsible for holding the meeting at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara temple in Smethwick, a few miles from Oldbury, following concerns within the community.
“I think if you look at it in the context of the climate, it makes it even more worrying because there is a trend of hatred... the targeting of migrants,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Kim Madill of Sandwell Police said, “We are working really hard to identify those responsible, with CCTV, forensic and other enquiries well underway. We fully understand the anger and worry that this has caused.”
“I am speaking to people in the community today to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to identify and arrest those responsible. Incidents like this are incredibly rare, but people can expect to see extra patrols in the area,” Kim added.
Gurinder Singh Josan, the local MP for Smethwick, described the incident as a “truly horrific attack” that had left the victim traumatised and urged anyone with information to assist police in investigating the “hate crime.”
