A 29-year-old Indian-Origin Canadian Sikh was viciously assaulted by four men in Canada in an alleged racially motivated attack.
This drew strong condemnation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Supninder Singh Khehra, who hails from Patiala, is a resident of the Toronto suburb of Brampton.
According to local media reports, he was verbally abused and beaten by a group of men who appeared to be drunk and targeted him because of his brown skin and turban.
Mr Khehra who is still recovering, said he was out with friends in Quebec City after dark and trying to hail a cab when a car full of men approached and started shouting at him in French, swearing and pointing at his turban, CTV reported online.
"I was punched in the eye and fell to the ground, where I was kicked repeatedly. It was all because of my race, my colour and the headgear I was wearing," he has been quoted saying.
He said his turban "went flying off."
"I'm really worried about the safety and wellbeing of young kids of my community who wear turbans," Mr Khehra added.
Khehra added that it has been especially hard to cope without his wife and parents, who are in India.
The incident has been condemned by Trudeau while he was speaking to reporters in Washington, where he was attending the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama.
Trudeau was quoted as saying that such "hateful acts" had "no place in Canada". He said, "We stand clearly against the kind of discrimination and intolerance that represents."
Khehra said “it means a lot” that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the incident.
Khehra also said he is heartened by an outpouring of support on social media, since CTV News first reported the story.
“It clearly shows that we stand together and this is the real Canada,” he added.
Khehra won’t be deterred from expressing his religion, either. “I will keep wearing my turban, and I am proud to wear a turban,” he said.
So far, two men have been arrested following this attack. While one person was released without any charge, another 22-year-old, faces charges of assault and uttering threats to a police officer. They said they are still investigating and more charges are possible.
