Mr. Ajit Singh Chima, 69, was attacked in what authorities say is a hate crime. (Photo courtesy of the Chima family) By Alyssa Giachino • Staff Writer • October 30, 2008 CARTERET —In two separate incidents this month, a child and a senior citizen of the Sikh faith have been attacked on borough streets, and police are looking into the incidents as hate crimes. The most recent occurred Monday around 3 a.m. when Ajit Singh Chima, 69, was punched and kicked repeatedly by an assailant as he walked along Carteret Avenue as part of his daily exercise routine. Chima said he suffered several fractures around his eyes and jaw, which prevents him from chewing solid food. He continues to undergo medical tests to determine the extent of his injuries. “It’s going to take time (to heal),” he said. Chima’s wife, Raghbir, 69, heard her husband come home that morning. “As soon as he opened the door, I don’t know, my world is like all black,” she said. “I was so nervous, I couldn’t say a word I just started crying … his face was all black and blue and bloody.” The assailant, described as a 5’7” male in his early 20s with a thin build, caught up with Chima near Johnson Avenue, according to the police report. “He crossed the median and came to me,” Chima said. “I started asking, ‘What do you want?’ and he immediately knocked me down. He punched me real hard on the nose.” Chima said his assailant continued assaulting him as he lay on the ground. According to the police report, “the offender said nothing and seemingly focused on the head area on which Ajit wears a turban.” Chima was not carrying a wallet, but said, “The guy never asked me anything, give me money or something.” His attacker then walked away. Chima lay for a moment to get his bearings, then got up and headed home. He encountered a patrol car on the way and the officers took him back to the crime scene but found no evidence. Police searched the area but did not find any suspects. “We are looking into it as a bias incident,” said Captain Daniel Tarrant. “We have no evidence of it being a bias incident other than that he is Indian, he was wearing a turban and he did nothing to provoke it.” Chima is a retired mechanical engineer and has lived in Carteret since 1975, where he raised his two daughters, and said he’s never experienced anything more than tasteless taunts from children. Carteret police reported the incident to the bias crimes unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. A Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said it reported the incident to the FBI and Justice Department. Gurdarshan “Gary” Singh, 40, a working committee member at the Singh Sabha temple in Carteret, said that based on membership lists, he estimates the Sikh population in Carteret is at least 2,500, out of the borough’s 22,000 residents. Singh said recently he has heard of more incidents in which Sikhs feel threatened or intimidated. “The feeling of the community is people are scared,” he said. He said many people choose not to report incidents to the authorities. However, an attack on a fifth-grade boy on Oct. 8 was reported to the police. Gagandeep Singh, 10, was walking home alone from Nathan Hale School when he was attacked by a person wearing a mask. According to the police report, the boy was jumped from behind and knocked to the ground along Hayward Avenue. The assailant pulled off Gagandeep’s turban and cut his hair with a blade, then ran off. Gagandeep’s sister, Jaseir Kaur, 23, said he arrived home nervous and in tears. In the Sikh faith, both males and females grow their hair out as a sign of religious devotion. “Cutting the skin or the hair is like the same thing in our culture,” she said. She said her family has been on the alert since the incident. “We’re feeling not safe like we used to be,” she said. http://www.mycentraljersey.com/
