London: Yet another Indian-origin woman was raped in the UK on Saturday. The accused allegedly broke into the home of the 20-year-old survivor and committed the crime.
The West Midlands Police has called this a “racially aggravated” crime and released footage of the accused, seeking assistance in tracking him down.
The attacker has been described as white, in his 30s, with short hair and wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.
It was called to the Park Hall area of Walsall on Saturday evening following concerns for the welfare of a woman in distress in the street, the police said.
“This was an absolutely appalling attack on a young woman, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to arrest the person responsible,” Detective Superintendent (DS) Ronan Tyrer, who is overseeing the investigation, said on Sunday.
“We have teams of officers recovering evidence and building a profile of the attacker so that he can be brought into custody as soon as possible. While we are following multiple lines of enquiry right now, it’s vital that we get to hear from anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the area at the time,” he said.
Tyrer also called on citizens with dashcams and CCTV cameras in the neighbouring areas to check their footage and share the information.
“It may be that you were driving through the area and have dashcam footage, or you have CCTV that we have not yet recovered. Your information could be the vital breakthrough that we need,” he said.
Local community groups have claimed that the victim is a Punjabi woman.
Sikh Federation UK quoted local sources and said that the “young woman who was subject to a racially aggravated rape in Walsall is a Punjabi woman”.
“The attacker apparently broke down the door of the house where she was living… West Midlands Police have now had two racially aggravated rapes of young women in their 20s in the last two months and urgently need to find those responsible,” the organisation added in a statement shared on social media.
The attack brings back memories of the incident of September when another Indian-origin woman was raped in the UK.
“We are hearing of yet another racially aggravated rape this time in Walsall. West Midlands police have reported a rape and assault of a young woman in her 20s in the Park Hall area, described as racially aggravated,” said Preet Kaur Gill, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston.
“The repeated pattern of violence against women in our region, compounded by hate and racial overtones, is deeply disturbing,” she added.