Second Sikh student attacked in US school

The victim said the classmate had been bullying him for sometime, asking him why he did not shave and frequently pulling at his 8216;patka.8217;

In the incident, which occurred on Tuesday, the Sikh student tried to hold on to his 8216;patka8217; when his classmate tried to remove it from behind and hit him in the face with keys. Police took the attacker into custody.

Early in May, a 16-year-old student in New Jersey was charged with hate crime after he set afire to a Sikh student8217;s patka.

8220;It is very disconcerting to learn that the administration at Richmond Hill High School failed to take the reports of bullying seriously,8221; remarked Baljit Kaur, United Sikh Sikh Awareness Project Coordinator.

8220;Sikh students being bullied is a well-documented phenomenon stemming from fear, ignorance, and misunderstandings concerning the unique Sikh appearance, particularly in the case of the dastaar, or the Sikh turban.8221;

Sikhs has been the victims of hate crime in the US after the 9/11 attacks as they are mistaken for Arabs due to their headgear.

Providing information to students and answering questions about the Sikh faith and the reason behind a Sikh8217;s distinctive look would help allay fears, Kaur added.