A 54-year old man has been charged with hate crime for assaulting an Indian-origin woman traveling in a subway and using homophobic slurs against her.
According to reports, Allasheed Allah was arraigned on Dec. 13 and charged with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment against Avneet Kaur, 20, for the attack in New York City’s Queens borough last month, PTI reported.
If convicted, Allasheed faces three and one-half to 15 years in prison, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
“Queens County is the most diverse county in the nation. It is home to many races, nationalities and sexual orientations. Crimes motivated by bias particularly those involving violence will never be tolerated in this county. When they do regrettably occur, they will be vigorously prosecuted and those involved will be severely punished,” Brown said while sentencing Allasheed.
According to the charges, Kaur was traveling in a subway train in Manhattan last month when Allah engaged her in a verbal dispute, PTI reported.
During the dispute, he began making homophobic slurs against Kaur and her friend. When the two women began to walk away, the defendant followed them and struck Kaur in the back of her head and then once in her chest causing her to fall and strike her head and neck on a pole before hitting the floor, PTI wrote.
According to the charges, Allasheed admitted that he used homophobic language against Kaur and threatened her if she kissed her friend, traveling with her on the subway, again, PTI wrote.
Kaur was immediately transported to a local Queens hospital where she underwent treatment for a fractured spine.