Man arrested for Oldbury rape gets bail, sparking anger in Sikh community

TOI Correspondent from London: The man arrested in the Oldbury “racially motivated” rape of a young British Sikh woman has been released on police bail without charge, sparking huge anger in the Sikh community.Crimestoppers, which is independent of the police, is offering a £20,000 (approx. Rs 24 lakh) reward for information they receive that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the rape.The attack and rape by two white men happened on a woman in her 20s in the Tame Road area of Oldbury on Sept 9 just before 8.30 am as she was walking to work. Police initially said they were treating it as “racially aggravated”.Police had arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of rape on Sept 14 but have so far failed to track down the second man.The Sikh community has in response put out its own appeal and put up a reward of £10,000 (about Rs 12 lakh) for information leading to the arrest and successful conviction of the two men involved.Sikh Federation UK has spearheaded a letter writing campaign calling on Sikh constituents to write to their MPs requesting them to make a public statement about the rape and to request the prime minister to treat anti-Sikh hate on a par with Islamophobia. They also claim police initially downplayed the rape.West Midlands police and Sandwell Council have put a mobile CCTV camera near the scene for reassurance. Hundreds of hours of CCTV footage have been examined and forensic specialists are also carrying out extensive enquires.Chief superintendent Kim Madill of Sandwell Police said: “In the last two weeks, our officers have been working flat out as part of this investigation. Our neighbourhood officers have been patrolling the area and we have specialist officers who have been supporting the victim and her family.”