Pakistani Faces 4 Years In Jail For Cutting Sikh's Hair

[Mehtab Singh]

http://publication.samachar.com/pub_articl...ww.samachar.com

NEW YORK: An 18-year-old Pakistani has been convicted of hate crime charges by a jury for forcibly cutting a Sikh student's hair in a US school.

Umair Ahmed faces up to four years in prison for cutting 15-year-old Harpal Vacher's hair with a small pair of folding scissors after threatening him on May 24, 2007.

"The defendant has been convicted of a serious attack on the fundamental beliefs of his victims religion and his freedom to worship freely," Queens district attorney Richard A Brown said.

Crimes of hate will never be tolerated in Queens County, in particular the most culturally diverse county in the nation, he was quoted as saying by the north country gazette.

Ahmed was convicted by the jury of second-degree menacing as a hate crime, second-degree coercion as a hate crime, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree harassment.

Brown said that, according to the evidence, Ahmed approached Vacher inside the lunchroom and stated that the only way he would forgive the victim is if Ahmed cut his hair.

Vacher said "For what? It is against my religion."

Ahmed then took his ring and said that if the victim didn't go with him he would punch the victim with his ring, the gazette reported. He ordered Vacher to go to the bathroom or he would get him after school, cut his hair and send him home naked to his parents.

Ahmed then got a small pair of folding scissors from another student, took Vacher into the bathroom and cut his hair after forcing him to remove his turban. He was arrested by New York Police Department's School Safety Division.

Ahmed will be sentenced on April 11 by Queens Supreme Court Justice Joel Blumenfeld.

[Harmeet_Singh]

hope he gets whats coming to him in prison

[japmans]

why?

isn't it enough he'll get what's coming to him from God when his day comes? why do we wish bad things to happen... Even in Zafarnaama, there was a significant level of compassion in that... even almost a sense of forgiveness.....

and here we are wishing bad upon people...

The kid's going to prison. He'll get what's coming to him from the Power of Powers... why do you go to such the extent that you hope he "gets what's comin to him in prison"?

unless, of course, you're simply referring to the exercise and daily meals he'll be getting in prison, in which case my post is misguided.

[Anonymous_kaur]

yh..i rember readin dis lng tyme ago !!

gd 2 hear dat he's gettin senetenced..buh onlii 4 years !!

[nanosecond]

India, take some lesson from US

Oh i just forgot that india doesnt have capacity in jails for so many of them

[proactive]

Nah I think he's referring to the Paki becoming a lot better acquainted with some guy called Bubba!

Didn't this scumbag's sister have the nerve to disrupt the press conference by saying that the Singh wanted to cut his hair but was afraid of his family and asked the Paki to cut it for him!

[saint-soldier]

Good to hear this. Maybe after he finishes his sentence he can clean shoes at gurudwara for the rest of his life.

[lowest of the low singhni]

^ That makes it sound like it's some sort of punishment : )

[Anonymous_kaur]

Good to hear this. Maybe after he finishes his sentence he can clean shoes at gurudwara for the rest of his life.

lol

[SSjatt]

i hope that this guy will confess by himself that he did it, and apology's to the Sikh boy.

Maybe they can drop the case against him.

But if the Pakistani boy does not feel guilty about it, then he can go to jail better.

And let him think of what he has done for 4 years.

And his sister need to apology's to, for making up the story.

WKWF