Yahoo Finance Sydney police investigate after Sikh men targeted in vehicle attack
Police in Sydney, Australia, are investigating after a group of Sikh men say the vehicle they were driving in was attacked, with the men alleging that they were targeted because they were wearing turbans.
CCTV footage aired by 7 News shows a vehicle fleeing a group of men appearing to be armed with wooden bats.
The incident left the vehicle with more than $10,000 in damages, with the windscreen smashed, the victims have said.
They told the broadcaster they were able to escape their assailants, but were chased and attacked again.
In a statement sent to The Independent, a spokesperson for the New South Wales Police Force said officers from the Parramatta Police Area Command had commenced an investigation over the incident.
Asked whether it was being investigated as a potential hate crime, they said it is being investigated as a crime.
The department confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, a 23-year-old, was allegedly attacked with “wooden bats and hammers”.
The driver told police he drove off, but was pursued again before making it to Granville Police Station to report the incident.
The incident unfolded in an area where tensions have been simmering between Sikh and Indian government supporters in Western, Sydney, police told 7 News.
Tensions have been on the rise in the wake of ongoing protests over farming laws in India seeking to deregulate wholesale trading.
