A horrifying attack in Oldbury, UK, has sent shockwaves through the Sikh community after a woman in her twenties was raped by two men who hurled racist slurs at her, telling her to “go back to your own country.” Police are treating the case as a racially aggravated hate crime and have launched an urgent manhunt for the suspects.
The assault took place near Tame Road around 8:30 a.m. last Tuesday. Investigators say CCTV footage is being reviewed, and forensic teams are working at the scene. According to police, the attackers made racist comments during the attack. Local reports identify the suspects as two white men — one with a shaven head in a dark sweatshirt, the other wearing a grey top.
Community leaders and politicians have condemned the attack, calling it a brutal reminder of rising hate-fuelled violence in the UK. British MP Preet Kaur Gill described the assault as “an act of extreme violence” and stressed that the Sikh community has every right to feel safe and respected. “Racism and misogyny have no place in Oldbury, or anywhere in Britain,” she said.
Ilford South MP Jas Athwal called the attack “vile, racist, [and] misogynist,” linking it to a broader rise in racial tensions across the country. “Let’s be clear, this attack is a result of the rising racial tensions in our country, and now, a young woman has been left traumatised for life,” he said.
The incident comes just weeks after three teenagers were caught on video kicking and assaulting two elderly Sikh men outside a Wolverhampton railway station, knocking off their turbans. Those attacks also sparked outrage and calls for tougher policing and accountability.
Local police have promised increased patrols and urged anyone with information to come forward. For many in the Sikh and South Asian community, however, the assault is a chilling sign of the dangers posed by emboldened extremist rhetoric and unchecked racism.