POLICE want to speak to a man and a woman in connection with the attack on a Sikh priest in Manchester’s Northern Quarter last month, media reports said.
The 62-year-old religious leader was attacked and left unconscious on June 23. The victim is still fighting for his life in the hospital after the incident.
Police have now released further CCTV images of a man and woman they wish to interrogate after the brutal assault.
On Wednesday (27), officers released another, more close-up CCTV image of a man they are looking for. Alongside the photo, an officer wrote: “#APPEAL Detectives investigating a serious assault that took place on Tib Street in the city centre that left a man in critical condition have released further CCTV of a male they would like to speak to.”
According to reports, the man beaten unconscious may have ‘bumped into attacker’s girlfriend.
“The poor man attacked is my friend’s husband. A Sikh priest who has never harmed anyone. Somebody must recognise the scumbag who did this,” one man said.
Currently, the incident is not being treated as a racist hate crime.
Detectives believe the male attacker fled the scene towards Hilton Street, before turning left onto Oldham Street.
Detective Inspector Mark Astbury, from Longsight CID, said: “This was an attack on a male who still remains in hospital in critical condition. His family are understandably devastated by the aftermath of the attack and yearning for answers surrounding this.
“With his family’s permission, we can now share that the victim is a Sikh priest and we are keeping an open mind in relation to the motivation for this attack. We’ve been following up a number of lines of enquiry since the incident including meticulous CCTV checks and are renewing our appeal for the public’s help.”
