PRESS RELEASE

Sikh American Veteran Assaulted by Police Officer in Illinois

SALDEF calls for immediate probe into assault and the xenophobic,
anti-immigrant statements by police officer against bronze star recipient

Washington D.C., April 11, 2007 -- The Sikh American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy
organization in the country, today called upon the Joliet Police Department
to investigate the actions of one of its officers when patrolling a local
neighborhood.

On Friday March 30, 2007 at around 3:00pm, Mr. Kuldip Singh Nag, a Sikh
American who was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Navy
during the first Gulf War, was at his home in Joliet, IL when a local police
officer noticed that a van parked on Mr. Nag's private property had expired
registration tags. Upon being confronted with this, Mr.
Nag's wife, Vera Kaur Nag, informed the officer that the van is parked on
their driveway and was inoperable.

  Mr. Nag then came outside to answer the officer's questions regarding the
van. The Joliet police officer then demanded that Mr. Nag park the van
inside his garage and not on the driveway, to which Mr. Nag responded to the
officer that it was not possible and that regardless, the van is parked on
his private property and he has a right to park it on his driveway.

  At this moment, the officer pulled out his pepper spray and attacked Mr.
Nag. As Mr. Nag screamed in agony, the officer removed his baton and
violently struck Mr. Nag numerous times until he fell to the ground. While
the assault ensued, the officer was reported by both Mr. and Mrs. Nag as
saying, "You f****** Arab! You f***** immigrant, go back to you f******
country before I kill you!"

Mr. Nag's wife and six year-old child both witnessed the violent assault,
which resulted in Mr. Nag immediately being admitted to the hospital where
he stayed for five days due to complaints of intense pain and head trauma.
Mr. Nag also received numerous bruises and a serious head injury which have
caused him to go blind for several minutes at a time

  "This case seems to be a clear incident of police misconduct in Illinois,"
said SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. "We are horrified at the
anti-immigrant sentiment the officer allegedly used as he violently accosted
Mr. Nag, and further that his six year old son was a witness to this violent
assault. We call upon both Joliet and Illinois officials to investigate this
incident and for the Illinois community to stand in solidarity with Mr.
Nag."

SALDEF has garnered the strong support of the Illinois Sikh American
community and is currently working with The Chawla Group Ltd to represent
Mr. Nag in a criminal case brought on by the City of Joliet.

## END ###

About SALDEF:

SALDEF is a national non-profit civil rights and educational organization.
SALDEF's mission is to create a fostering environment in the United States
for Sikh Americans. SALDEF protects and promotes the civil rights of Sikh
Americans through legal aid, advocacy and educational outreach.

CONTACT:
Rajbir Singh Datta
info@saldef.org
202-393-2700 ext. 27

This message was sent by: Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(SALDEF), 1413 K Street NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20005