Two Sikh Americans have been killed in separate incidents in California, according to community organisations and media reports.
Sixty-eight-year-old Subag Singh was found dead in a canal with injuries after he went missing in the morning of 23 June.
California law enforcement officials from Fresno county have said that they were trying to find out who was responsible for the killing of the elderly Sikh American.
"Deputies found his body with visible trauma in a canal on McCall and Jensen. Investigators are trying to piece together what led up to the body being found in a canal," Fox26 News said in a report. Fresno county has said that they’re trying to find the person responsible for this crime. It has not been ascertained whether it’s a hate crime.
In a separate incident, 20-year-old Simranjit Singh, of Elk Grove, was shot dead on 25 July outside a gas station where he worked.
According to Sacramento Bee news, he was shot dead by men who had earlier assaulted his co-worker.
Singh's co-worker was reportedly assaulted by the three suspects while cleaning the parking lot and had gone into the store to call 9-1-1.But when the victim then walked out of the store, he was attacked by the same people.
The Sacramento Sheriff's Department has identified two suspects wanted for the murder, Fox40 reported. Forty-year-old Alexander Lopez was arrested for his involvement in the murder on Wednesday but police are still looking for 23-year-old Rodolfo Zavala and 15-year-old Ramon Zavala.
At this point in both investigations, it is unclear if either of these crimes were racially motivated but we are working with both local and federal laws enforcement authorities to ensure these murders are thoroughly investigated and that the local jurisdictions are treating the cases with the utmost importance.Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF)
"These attacks are inexcusable and we offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of Subag Singh and Simranjit Singh. We call upon local and federal law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate these heinous crimes and classify them as hate incidents if hate is shown to be a motive," SALDEF executive director Baldev Singh said.
There have been a number of attacks targeting Indian-Americans in the recent months in the US.
In March, a 39-year-old Sikh man was shot in the arm outside his home in Kent, Washington, by a partially-masked gunman who shouted "go back to your own country".
In February, 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed when a US Navy veteran opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani, yelling "get out of my country".
(With inputs from PTI)
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