Jiwan Singh blames the world's most notorious terrorist for the bias attacks he and his family have suffered over their religion.
The Sikh MTA employee was riding a Brooklyn A train on Memorial Day when a hate-spewing straphanger accused him of being related to Osama Bin Laden and then sucker-punched him.
"He was saying, 'You are the brother of Osama,'" said Singh, 59, who lost three teeth from the blows. "I said, 'I am not Osama. I have nothing to do with him!'"
An Indian immigrant who came to America more than 30 years ago, Singh bristles at the name Bin Laden for repeatedly bringing harm to his people and religion.
The Queens father of five said his son, Jasmir, 23, lost an eye after being stabbed by attackers in 2009 who targeted him because of his turban and traditional beard.
"We are Indians," he said, recalling other "Osama" slurs he's endured because of his long, white beard.
"Due to that *******, I have suffered so much, my family has suffered so much, my community has suffered so much."
Singh, an electrical engineer, said the recent attack happened about 11:30 p.m. as he rode the train to work in Brooklyn from his home in Richmond Hill.
The attacker, whom Singh described as a black man in his late 20s, got on at the Utica Ave. stop.
The car was half-empty, Singh said, but the man walked right up to him and demanded he give up his seat. Singh said he was nervous, but pointed out that there were other open seats nearby.
He said the man grabbed him by the shirt collar, picked him up and threw him into one of those seats.
"He said, 'Taliban, you sit there!'" Singh recalled.
The attacker, who wore a checkered shirt and a brown cap, then stared down Singh - sometimes cursing him out loud, other times muttering under his breath.
As the train pulled into the next station, Kingston Ave., the man suddenly threw two quick roundhouse punches, Singh said. Both hit him square in the mouth.
"He said, 'This is for you, Osama!'" Singh recalled. "It was so fast. I couldn't even defend myself."
Singh cupped his bleeding mouth while chasing the attacker, who fled the station and got away.
The NYPD hate-crimes task force is investigating it as a bias incident, a police official said. No one has been arrested.
Singh was treated at Interfaith Medical Center. When he recounted his ordeal for the Daily News days later, he still winced from the pain.
His wife, Maryann, sat quietly with a distressed look on her face. His daughter, Piarry, 18, couldn't believe hate had visited her family a second time.
"I just wish people were not cruel," she said.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local..._to_hate_nuts_sucker_punch.html#ixzz1ORUgnsVl
The Sikh MTA employee was riding a Brooklyn A train on Memorial Day when a hate-spewing straphanger accused him of being related to Osama Bin Laden and then sucker-punched him.
"He was saying, 'You are the brother of Osama,'" said Singh, 59, who lost three teeth from the blows. "I said, 'I am not Osama. I have nothing to do with him!'"
An Indian immigrant who came to America more than 30 years ago, Singh bristles at the name Bin Laden for repeatedly bringing harm to his people and religion.
The Queens father of five said his son, Jasmir, 23, lost an eye after being stabbed by attackers in 2009 who targeted him because of his turban and traditional beard.
"We are Indians," he said, recalling other "Osama" slurs he's endured because of his long, white beard.
"Due to that *******, I have suffered so much, my family has suffered so much, my community has suffered so much."
Singh, an electrical engineer, said the recent attack happened about 11:30 p.m. as he rode the train to work in Brooklyn from his home in Richmond Hill.
The attacker, whom Singh described as a black man in his late 20s, got on at the Utica Ave. stop.
The car was half-empty, Singh said, but the man walked right up to him and demanded he give up his seat. Singh said he was nervous, but pointed out that there were other open seats nearby.
He said the man grabbed him by the shirt collar, picked him up and threw him into one of those seats.
"He said, 'Taliban, you sit there!'" Singh recalled.
The attacker, who wore a checkered shirt and a brown cap, then stared down Singh - sometimes cursing him out loud, other times muttering under his breath.
As the train pulled into the next station, Kingston Ave., the man suddenly threw two quick roundhouse punches, Singh said. Both hit him square in the mouth.
"He said, 'This is for you, Osama!'" Singh recalled. "It was so fast. I couldn't even defend myself."
Singh cupped his bleeding mouth while chasing the attacker, who fled the station and got away.
The NYPD hate-crimes task force is investigating it as a bias incident, a police official said. No one has been arrested.
Singh was treated at Interfaith Medical Center. When he recounted his ordeal for the Daily News days later, he still winced from the pain.
His wife, Maryann, sat quietly with a distressed look on her face. His daughter, Piarry, 18, couldn't believe hate had visited her family a second time.
"I just wish people were not cruel," she said.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local..._to_hate_nuts_sucker_punch.html#ixzz1ORUgnsVl
