New York: US man arrested for punching, hurling homophobic slurs at Indian-origin woman; faces 15 yrs in jail
New York news: The victim suffered a fractured spine after she was attacked by the man who was enraged at her friend giving her a kiss on the cheek while they were riding the subway
New York: A 20-year-old Indian-origin woman was physically assaulted and was left with a fractured spine after a 54-year-old US man allegedly attacked her and hurled homophobic slurs at her while the two of them were riding the subway in New York. The man has now been charged with hate crime for attacking 20-year-old Avneet Kaur on November 30 in New York’s Queens borough, police said on Friday.
As per news agency IANS, the accused, Allasheed Allah from Manhattan’s East Harlem locality, was arrested on Thursday. Authorities have charged him with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment against the woman. He has also been accused of hurling homophobic slurs at the woman, following which he attacked and punched her, as per NBC News.
The man faces up to 15 years in jail for his crime and is slated to return to court on December 27. The report said that the incident took place after Allah saw the victim’s friend give her a kiss on her cheek when she was making a Snapchat post while riding a Manhattan-bound E train through Queens. Allah, who was also on board the train, lost his cool at the two women over the kiss, following which he approached her and threatened her.
During a heated verbal exchange with the women, the accused allegedly told the victim, “Don't do that gay s**t in front of me! Do that one more time and watch what happens!" The two women then tried to move away from the spot but Allah followed them and then punched Kaur in the back of her head. The impact of the punch caused Kaur to lose her balance and hit her head and neck on a pole before falling to the ground, police said.
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital with a fractured spine where she underwent treatment, while the accused allegedly fled the crime scene. On the other hand, the police released a photo and video of the suspect earlier this week and said that they were able to catch him after receiving a tip from the public.
"Queens County is the most diverse county in the nation. It is home to many races, nationalities and sexual orientations. Crimes motivated by bias - particularly those involving violence - will never be tolerated in this county," IANS quoted the statement by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.