California, August 6:  Another incident of hate crime has been reported from the United States of America (USA) where a 50-year old Sikh man was beaten up in California by two men. The white men reportedly shouted racial slurs and asked the man to return to his country. “You’re not welcome here! Go back to your country!”, they yelled, prompting police to investigate the hate crime. The assailants brutally thrashed the man multiple times and also spray painted his truck.

According to a report by PTI, the incident happened earlier this week near the intersection of Keyes and Foote roads in California as the man was putting up campaign signs alone along a rural stretch on the outskirts of Keyes.

The report further quoted Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson saying that the assault is being investigated as a hate crime. “This is a random despicable criminal act against a member of the Sikh community,” Christianson was quoted by PTI. Meanwhile, Sheriff Sergeant Tom Letras said the 50-year-old victim was placing signs for local candidates when two white men wearing black hooded sweatshirts ambushed him and beat him to the ground.

The victim so badly hit that an ambulance was called, and he was rushed to the hospital where he was being treated. A Facebook post reveals the man was beaten on the head with a rod, but he escaped major injury because of his turban, which is traditionally worn by Sikh men. The post shared an image of the pickup truck, which was spray painted in large black letters with the words “Go back to ur country” alongside a Celtic cross, PTI reported.

The department is looking for help identifying the suspects or witnesses to the crime. The incident is considered an assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime. The victim’s identity is not being released at this time, Letras added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2018 04:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).