Sacramento-area Sikh leader says he was targeted in Yolo County highway shooting

KOVR

By Madisen Keavy

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    WOODLAND, California (KOVR) — A Sikh leader in the Sacramento area says he was targeted in a highway shooting earlier in August and the California Highway Patrol are investigating the incident.

Satinder Pal Singh Raju, from Woodland, is a leader of the group Sikhs for Justice, and involved in the Khalistan movement which aims to create a homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of India. Raju has been involved in referendum voting in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Calgary, Canada.

On August 11, Raju was in the passenger seat of a truck traveling south on Interstate 505 and headed toward Vacaville for a late-night dinner. As the truck approached the County Road 27 exit north of Witners, what appeared to be a white Honda Civic got close to the car’s bumper.

Within seconds, Raju said bullets blasted through the driver’s side window. The driver veered into a ditch off the road to escape and the men hid behind nearby hay bales.

“[At] that time, [I was] a little bit nervous, but not scared,” Raju said.

The men waited until CHP officers arrived at the scene, and I-505 was closed during the investigation. A CHP spokesperson told CBS13 that there are no suspects but that the incident was isolated and there is no threat to the public.

An FBI spokesperson told CBS13 they could not confirm if they are investigating.

Raju said this type of violence is something he’s seen play out for other Sikh leaders in their movement. One of his best friends, who was “like a brother” to him, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was assassinated in Canada last year.

“I realize it’s the same way they assassinated my friend, the same way they’re attacking me,” Raju said through an interpreter.

He said that even after the shooting, he is not scared but rather motivated to continue his work.

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