Date:31/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/31/stories/2007123150851400.htm

National

Killing of Sikh brothers: hate crime suspected

Silicon Valley: The killing of two Sikh brothers in their restaurant at the Bay Area in California has shocked the community which suspected it to be a hate crime.

The restaurateurs — 30-year-old Ravinder Kalsi, owner of ‘Sahib Indian Restaurant,’ and his 42-year-old brother Paramjit Kalsi — were shot dead in their restaurant on Thursday night.

The killings left Richmond’s Sikh community searching for reasons. “Nothing about the Kalsis made them obvious targets. They were totally pure guys, not in a fanatical way, just really hard-working,” Kalsis’ friend Gurman Bal said. He feared the killings could be a hate crime but police said there was no clear evidence of it.

“The assailants touched nothing. It does not look like a robbery. It looks like these two guys went in there to kill,” Richmond Detective Sgt. Mitch Peixoto said. — PTI