Black Youths Racially Attack Punjabi-Sikh Student
Sher-e-Panjab Press
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007
A young Punjabi-Sikh student who was racially attacked by a mob of girls on a bus recently accused the driver and other passengers of turning a blind eye to her ordeal.
Ramanpreet Kaur Bhalla said her pleas for help were ignored as she was left at the mercy of the teenage racist thugs who dragged her from the vehicle and laid into her.
The 19-year-old student said the experience had "shattered her faith in humanity" and left her scared to travel on public transport.
Travel chiefs promised an urgent investigation. Footage from on-board CCTV cameras has been recovered and handed to police.
The incident has raised the issue about whether members of the public should step in to help fellow citizens defend themselves from violence, over recent months there have been many such attacks on members of the Punjabi-Sikh community.
Ramanpreet said: "I was so shocked no-one wanted to help me. They could all see what was happening to me but stood by and did nothing.
"We're all human and should help each other out."
She added: "Because of what happened, I can't go back on the bus any more."
The A-Level student, who plans to study psychology, was travelling home on the number 11 bus when the attack happened.
She said a gang of eight black girls started causing trouble with other passengers, forcing the driver to stop the bus at the Greenhill Road junction on Rookery Road, Handsworth, Birmingham.
As Ramanpreet joined passengers to get off the bus the gangs of girls barged into her.
"One of them spat in my face," said Ramanpreet, who lives in Handsworth with her parents.
"They grabbed my hair and dragged me off the bus and onto the pavement. They kicked me and slapped me.
"I was scared. They were in a group and I was on my own. No one did anything to help me, I couldn't believe it.
"They could have had a knife. I could have been stabbed. "I was shouting 'Help, please, someone help me'. But the bus driver and passengers just stood there. No one lifted a finger."
The gang eventually fled with Ramanpreet's purse containing cash and valuables.
A spokesman for Travel West Midlands said: "We have identified the bus and driver, who has now been interviewed.
"It is clear there was a scuffle and there was little support coming from other passengers.
"We are still actively investigating the incident and will be supporting the police in their investigation."
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