Sikh arrested in US for wearing kirpan

NEW YORK: A Sikh truck driver was arrested for wearing a kirpan and his turban "forcibly" removed while he was entering a Connecticut court to contest a traffic violation charge, a community advocacy group said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on June 18 while 47-year-old Sachdev Singh was passing through security at the Connecticut State Superior Court, the group, United Sikhs, said.

Apart from arresting him for wearing kirpan, the court marshals "forcibly" removed his turban, it claimed. Singh, the group said, was wearing his approximately five-inch long kirpan under his clothing, as many Sikhs do, and stated to security officers on three different occasions before entering the metal detector that he had "a religious symbol" under his clothes.

The marshals did not inquire about the religious symbol and asked him to deposit his cell phone and camera with one of them. When Singh passed under the metal detectors, he was promptly arrested and both his kirpan and turban were stripped away from him forcibly.