LONDON: A large number of Sikhs from across Britain have planned a peaceful vigil in the Scottish capital Edinburgh to protest Tuesday’s racist attack on a Sikh youth that has shocked the entire community.
The event Sunday is being organised by the London-based Sikh human rights group and the British Organisation of Sikh Students (BOSS), with active support from other Sikh bodies.
Community members will hold a candlelight vigil in Pilrig Park, the site of the attack and hand out flyers to passers-by.
The Sikh teenager was attacked and his hair cut off by a gang of white youths in Edinburgh while he was on his way to meet relatives.
He was subjected to racist abuses before being knocked to the ground by the gang.
Local authorities expect at least nine busloads of Sikhs from London and the Midlands to pray at the local gurudwara, according to the Scotsman newspaper.
“There has never been anything on this scale seen in Scotland. People all over Britain are shocked by what happened,” said Paman Singh, a law student from Glasgow and a member of BOSS.
“We have officers working extremely hard to track the culprits of this truly shocking crime. We have been in communication with the Sikh community about their planned peaceful vigil too,” said a police spokesperson.
