15 Desi Students Attacked In U.S INDOlink News Bureau

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Consider this. The first time Ankur Tangirala was attacked, he shook his head, called his attacker a "psycho" and walked away. The second time, he was kicked in the stomach and knocked to the ground. Now, whenever Tangirala, a 27-year-old graduate student from India, approaches the corner of Cornell Drive and Central Avenue, he's wary. "I can never walk across this area without thinking that I will be hit," he told the Albuquerque Tribune.

The newspaper reported that the pattern of assaults has made the community of more than 100 Indian students anxious and tense.

Fifteen students have come forward to describe similar attacks in the past few months. Five have filed police reports, either with UNM police or the Albuquerque Police Department, said Bhavana Upadhyaya, president of the India Student Association. Upadhyaya said five more students have been attacked, but they chose to remain anonymous.

All the attacks have similarities: The victims are male Desis. They occur in broad daylight and begin with a man who tries to sneak up on his victims from behind and then kicks them. At some point in nearly every attack, the man says "Namaste."

In a recent assault, Tangirala said, the victim reported that his attacker kicked him to the ground and then pulled a screwdriver out and threatened him with it. Tangirala said he and the other students who have been attacked feel limited in defending themselves because they are not U.S. citizens. They attend the university on student green cards. "If this were in our country, we would get a bunch of our friends together and go out and get him," Tangirala said. "But we have restrictions. We don't want to take the law into our own hands. What if we hit someone and get deported?"

Upadhyaya, Tangirala and Roshan Rammohan, 29, who has been attacked twice, are all doctoral candidates conducting research at the university. Upadhyaya is studying communication, Tangirala is studying robotics and Rammohan is studying artificial intelligence with an emphasis on military uses.

They say they represent the contributions Indian students, many of whom live in the University Area, are making to the United States. They say they also worry about the impression these attacks will make on new students.

The victims concede that these incidents are difficult for police to resolve individually because no one has been seriously injured. "Crime in this area has always been common, but now for us it has become a struggle if these crimes are racially motivated," Rammohan said. "These things are happening in broad daylight."

Upadhyaya fears for her 10-year-old son. "Our loyalty is to this area," said Upadhyaya, who has lived in the University Area for five years. "This is the first time I have thought maybe I shouldn't be living in this area with my son. I am always worried and tense when he's riding his bike around with his friends."

SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

Last week the University police took into custody 34-year-old Turan Johnson who is suspected of assaulting several Desi male students. Johnson has a history of bizarre behavior and was placed at the UNM Mental Health Center on a 72-hour hold.

Later, he said in court that he is a student at an Indian school of medicine in Albuquerque. Johnson made several odd claims to the judge, including “I have 12 Chinese girlfriends.” Johnson was given a mental evaluation which helped police decide to charge him with a hate crime.

The Albuquerque Police Department has about 20 reports of similar attacks, John Walsh, a spokesman for the department, said last week. He said members of the Indian community had not reported the attacks in recent months, "but once it came to light they've been reporting it."

Johnson, who pleaded not guilty, is being held on a $10,000 bail. When he was caught Johnson reportedly told police he attacked Indians because, "We are at war with them."

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