A California man has been charged with a hate crime after he was filmed verbally harassing an Indian man at a Taco Bell, hurling anti-Hindu comments and racist slurs.
Singh Tejinder, 37, of Union City, was charged Monday with hate crime in violation of civil rights, assault and disturbing the peace by offensive language, the Fremont Police Department said. Tejinder was listed in charging documents as “Asian/Indian.”
He allegedly verbally attacked Krishnan Jayaraman inside the Taco Bell at the 40000 block of Grimmer Boulevard in Fremont on Aug. 21, Jayaraman told NBC Bay Area.
NBC News was unable to reach Tejinder by phone Tuesday.
Jayaraman recorded the tirade that lasted over eight minutes on his phone, capturing the moment Tejinder told him: “You’re disgusting, dog. You look nasty. Don’t come out in public like this again.”
In the foul-mouthed rant, Tejinder called him a “dirty Hindu,” repeatedly used the N-word, and insinuated Jayaraman didn’t eat meat and yelled “Beef!” in his face. He appeared to spit at Jayaraman twice in the footage.
At one point Tejinder was seen saying, “B—-, this ain’t India! You f—ed India up, and now you’re f—ing America up.”
The Fremont Police Department confirmed the footage to NBC News.
Jayaraman said he was frightened by the incident, and was even more upset to later learn the perpetrator was also Indian.
“I was scared, to be honest with you. I was infuriated on the one hand, but I was scared that, ‘What if this guy becomes too belligerent and then comes after me?’” he said to NBC Bay Area.
Fremont police responded to the scene around 8:20 p.m. and found the two men “in an active argument” and interviewed each.
While interviewing Tejinder, “it was confirmed that a disparaging comment about a particular religion was stated during the verbal argument,” police said.
Police later reviewed the video recording of the interaction between the two men and saw one man “directing religious slurs and derogatory comments towards the person holding the camera.”
Jayaraman was contacted for another interview and police then presented the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for review, culminating in the charges.
As of Tuesday, Tejinder is not in Alameda County custody, Fremont police said. He is currently on probation with petition to revoke the probation, authorities said.
“A court date has been set where the suspect will be held to answer for the above listed on-view charges,” a spokesperson with the police department said.
Jayaraman told NBC News he is “relieved” that the incident will go to court, but expressed disappointment with how Fremont police characterized the incident. He says that he never argued back with Tejinder and they didn’t have to be separated.
“Since such characterization, the scrutiny that followed on me has left me emotionally drained and in distress that I am forced to relive every moment of it all over again,” he said in a statement, noting he is still grateful that police showed up at the scene.
Taco Bell said in a statement it is aware of the incident, calling the actions in the video “troubling, upsetting and not consistent with the brand’s inclusive values to respect and welcome customers of all backgrounds.”
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
