In an exciting reversal, the Sikh Coalition is relieved to report that the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office has decided to file a hate crime charge in the Inderjit Singh Mukker assault. Mr. Mukker, a 53 year old Sikh American and father of two, was viciously beaten in his car after being called racial slurs such as “Bin Laden,” while on his way to the grocery store in the Chicago suburb of Darien on Tuesday, September 8th.
In a meeting on Monday afternoon with the DuPage State’s Attorney’s Office, the Sikh Coalition’s legal team shared additional evidence and information that showed hatred to be the primary motivation behind the crime.
“We are thankful that Robert Berlin and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office have filed a hate crime charge in this case,” said the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur. “For the Sikh American community, a formal hate crime charge was never about a harsher penalty, but instead prosecuting the crime for what it was. We can’t combat the problem of hatred against minority communities in America unless our elected officials and government agencies acknowledge that the problem exists.”
The Sikh Coalition, interfaith leaders and community partners from across Chicago will proceed this morning with a press conference at 11am CST to discuss the brutal hate crime and applaud the decision of the DuPage State’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute the assault as such. The press conference will feature Mr. Mukker, local leaders and Sikh Coalition representatives. Family members of Mr. Mukker will be made available for interviews after the press conference.
