Photos: Community Rallies Behind Darien Man Attacked in Alleged Hate Crime

A diverse crowed gathered Tuesday morning at a community rally and press conference organized by the Sikh Coalition in support of Inderjit Singh Mukker, a Sikh-American Darien man who was attacked Sept. 8 in Darin.

The rally was originally organized to urge the DuPage County State’s Attorney‘s Office to pursue a hate crime charge against the Willowbrook teenager accused of attacking Mukker, but the office announced earlier Tuesday morning that the additional hate crime charge had been added.

• Read more on this story: Willowbrook Teenager Charged in Beating of Darien Man

Harsimran Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, said Mukker and the Sikh Coalition’s legal team met yesterday with DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin to have an ”in-depth discussion about all of the facts underlying what we believed were the attacker’s biased motivation.”

She said Berlin’s office spent roughly two hours with the team, and it appeared the office’s investigation was incomplete before the team provided additional evidence attorneys hadn’t yet seen. Mukker also provided a full statement on the incident.

Narinder Singh, Sikh Coalition board chair, said identifying this assault as a hate crime will not affect the length of punishment in this case, but it may lead to treatment of the perpetrator to address the hate and the underlying bias that inspired the crime.

“Hate-based crimes attack the very essence of the American dream,” Singh said. “We need our government to stand with us and send a clear message that this kind of hate will not be tolerated.”

Singh pointed out that the rally coincided with the anniversary of the first fatal hate crime in the United States after Sept. 11. Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American, was killed Sept. 15, 2001, after a man yelling racial slurs shot him at a gas station in Arizona.

Mukker appeared at the rally to thank the people who have supported him and sent him messages of kindness.

“I was attacked because of my brown skin, turban and a beard,” Mukker said. “I was assaulted in my car because I am a Sikh. My attacker saw me driving on this road, and instead of seeing my turban and beard for what they are, articles of my faith ... he twisted them into symbols of hate. He called me Bin Laden, he told me go back to my country. This is my country, this is my home, I am an American, and no American should be judged or attacked because of the color of their skin and their religion. This is why I am grateful that the DuPage Country prosecutor has filed hate crime charges against my attacker.”

Mukker’s son, Kanwar Mukker also spoke at the rally, saying the attack was shocking, and it has had a big impact on their family. He said Darien is usually peaceful, and it’s senseless that this crime happened in the city he calls home.

Speakers at the rally also included Reverend Otis Moss of Trinity United Church and Marty Castro, chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Click here to watch the full press conference.

Catch up on this story:

• Hate Crime Charge Added Against Juvenile Accused of Beating Darien Man
• Sikh Coalition to Hold Community Rally in Response to Assault of Darien Man
• Willowbrook Teenager Charged in Beating of Darien Man
• Attacker Screamed ‘Terrorist Go Back to Your Country’ as He Beat Darien Man