A Hindu priest was viciously thrashed by a 52-year-old man.
The Hindu priest was attacked while wearing his traditional religious garb and walking down the street.
The Hindu Priest named Swami Harish Chander Puri has been quoted by a news portal PIX11.com as saying that the attack happened around 11 am on 18th July 2019, near the Shiv Shakti Peeth in Glen Oaks. The man attacked the priest from behind and also shouted that ‘this is my neighbourhood.’
Bruised and bleeding the Hindu Priest was rushed to a hospital.
52-year-old Sergio Gouveia has been arrested in connection with this attack and has been charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Police are however still unsure whether this could be a ‘potential hate crime’ and are ‘looking into it’ as per the report by Pix11.
Hate crimes like these against the Hindus are rising in the USA. Earlier, a 13-year old Hindu girl was Dhriti Narayan was also at the receiving end of bigotry when an American Army Veteran named Isaiah Peoples crashed into her and others.
Shantain Vargas, a witness to the Peoples crime’ took out her cellphone to capture video of the crash scene and said that she ‘couldn’t quite believe her eyes — Peoples seemed to be shouting like you would in church.’
Peoples, rocking back and forth was saying, ‘thank you, Jesus … thank you, Jesus.’
The video also showed Peoples sitting on the ground surrounded by officers and saying “Yes, you are, Jesus. Yes, you are!”
Dhriti received “inter-cranial bleed, brain swelling, with the left side of skull removed to relieve pressure, pelvic fracture, critical condition and life-threatening” as per a news report.
A GoFunDMe campaign described the incident in the following words:
‘Dhriti, her brother and father were walking in a cross-walk when a car plowed into them. In this crime, the driver intentionally targeted them based on their ethnicity / perceived religion.’
It is in this environment, it is saddening that Donald Trump administration has largely remained aloof to Hinduphobia.
