Student charged in hate crime against classmate

Charges against a 17-year-old Pakistani student from Newtown High School, who allegedly cut the hair of a Sikh classmate, have been bumped up to that of a hate crime. Originally, Umair Ahmed faced four years behind bars, but now he could spend seven years in prison if convicted.
“The defendant is not accused of some schoolhouse prank but an attack on the fundamental beliefs of his victim’s religion and his freedom to worship freely. His alleged actions have no place in a civilized society - especially in Queens County, the most culturally diverse county in the nation. Crimes of hate can never be tolerated here,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, while announcing the elevated charge on Friday, May 25.
A day earlier, Ahmed, armed with a pair of scissors, allegedly forced 15-year-old Vacher Harpal into a bathroom in their high school.
According to Brown, Harpal removed his dastaar - better known as a turban - once inside the bathroom, cried, and begged Ahmed not to cut his hair, which had never been cut and fell past his waist. In the Sikh culture, both men and women typically never cut their hair, as the locks are a testament to creation.
Allegedly, Ahmed told Harpal, “I have to cut your hair.” When Harpal asked, “For what, it is against my religion,” Ahmed showed the younger student a ring with Arabic inscriptions and said, “This ring is Allah. If you don’t let me cut your hair, I will punch you with this ring.”
Then Ahmed allegedly cut Harpal’s hair to the neckline and threw the chopped locks into the toilet and on the floor.
On Friday, May 25, Ahmed was arraigned by Judge Gene Lopez, who set bail at $5,000. He was charged with second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, second-degree menacing as a hate crime, second-degree aggravated harassment, second-degree harassment and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, June 8.
In response to the alleged crime, the Department of Education issued a statement, saying, “The incident does not reflect the behavior, beliefs, or culture of Newtown, whose students come from 100 countries and speak 59 different languages. The school has active peer mediation and leadership training programs that teach conflict resolution and interethnic understanding. While the investigation is ongoing, it is heartening to see a spirit of unity in the school community as it moves forward.”
Meanwhile members of the Queens Sikh community are hoping to educate non-Sikhs about their culture and traditions.
“We are very upset, and we do not want this to happen again and again. You have to educate the people in the schools,” said Gurnam Singh, Public Relations Chair of the Sikh Cultural Society, Inc., based in Richmond Hill. “If someone knows that this [not cutting their hair] is important to our culture, then I don’t think they would do that.”
Singh said that frequently Sikhs are confused with Muslims and even Al Qaeda because of images in the media of Osama bin Laden wearing a turban. As a result, Singh said, Sikhs have faced discrimination throughout the world.
“It’s part of our religion. This is our hair, and we wear the turban also,” Singh said.