By Asia Samachar | US | Police have arrested a man who brutally assaulted a 70-year-old Sikh man on an afternoon walk near a gurdwara in North Hollywood. Harpal Singh was attacked with a golf club on Monday (Aug 11) in the area of Lankershim Boulevard and Saticoy Street, according to the Sikh Coalition. The Sikh American civil rights group SALDEF said a suspect was arrested Monday at around 9:40 p.m. Los Angeles police identified the suspect as Bo Richard Vitagliano, 44. He was being held on US$1.115 million bail, according to jail records. The 70-year-old remains in critical condition, unable to communicate, with internal bleeding to the brain. Now, the Sikh community is calling for more police protection. Los Angeles police said there was a fight between the victim and suspect, who is unhoused, reports ABC. “Witnesses advised that they did not see how the altercation began, but heard a loud commotion, then witnessed two men swinging metal objects at each other,” police said in a news release, according to the report. “Both individuals were struck. The suspect further assaulted the victim, while he was reportedly on the ground. Witnesses intervened by yelling at the suspect, at which time he rode away on his bicycle.” An arrest was made when officers spotted Vitagliano with his bicycle on Lankershim Boulevard and Arminta Street, according to the LAPD. Police said a picture of the suspect taken by surveillance cameras helped officers make the arrest. The report added that the Sikh community has been a frequent target of attacks for decades, often in cases of mistaken identity by anti-Muslim attackers. Detectives believe the assault was not a hate crime but was “motivated by a dispute over property belonging to the victim.” The Sikh Coalition issued a statement questioning the LAPD’s findings, ABC reported. “In the Sikh Coalition’s view it is impossible to completely rule out a bias motive at this stage,” the coalition said. “The suspect has been in custody for less than 24 hours, and the victim himself remains unconscious and has thus been unable to sit for a full and comprehensive police interview, with professional translation services, separate from the interview taken immediately after the attack.” RELATED STORY: New FBI data reports highest anti-Sikh hate crime victimizations (Asia Samachar, 17 Oct 2023) ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here