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'Terrorist' alarm causes uproar amid arrests
By Tim Bousquet
The Daily Citizen
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 12:43 AM CST
Fear was the dominant theme in a White County traffic stop Monday evening, when two turban-clad truck drivers hauling flowers to Wal-Mart were arrested at gun point after a brief chase between Rose Bud and Joy.
Manjinder Singh and Darshan Singh Nijjar, both Sikhs from East India living in Canada and legally traveling and working in the United States, were arrested for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle and speeding.
They spent the night at the White County Detention Center and were released at 7 a.m. Tuesday, but not before inciting a bit of panic among the locals.
As the men were being questioned on the side of Highway 36, The Daily Citizen received multiple phone calls from passers-by relating that "towelheads" and "terrorists" had been apprehended by the police.
False reports that at least one of the men was on "the terrorist list" reverberated across the county for hours.
Sikhism is a religion completely unrelated to Islam. It was founded in 15th century India in reaction to the Hindu caste system. Its 20 million practitioners worship one God and believe in the equality of all races and of men and women. Men wear their hair long and keep it covered with turbans. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Sikhs in the United States have been victimized by attackers who confuse them with Muslims.
John Slater, an off-duty sergeant with the White County Sheriff's Department, first encountered Singh and Nijjar buying gas at a station in Rose Bud.
"They saw me looking at them, and I don't know if it was because of the blue lights in the grill of my pickup or what, but they kind of hurried up and left," he said. "I went inside and asked the clerk, who said they had paid with cash and didn't get a receipt. Truck drivers usually don't do that."
Slater notified the Rose Bud Police Department, and within minutes Chief Steven Schamaumleffel and officer Brent Bittle were following the 18-wheeler. The men sped away, reaching speeds up to 80 miles per hour along the winding and hilly road, before stopping at the Joy Mountain Antique store.
Slater, wearing shorts and thongs, left his wife in his pickup and joined Schamaumleffel and Bittle in approaching the truck with guns drawn. Singh, the driver, followed the officers' instructions, but passenger Nijjar jumped into the rear of the cab and only surrendered himself after repeated commands, said Slater.
Over the next couple of hours, about a dozen law enforcement officers, including state troopers, highway police and Kelley, the county police dog, joined the investigation.
A small vial of powder was found in the truck, but Kelley found it unremarkable. Singh was placed back in the truck's driver seat as the highway police conducted a full inspection of the truck, while Nijjar was left handcuffed in the back seat of a County patrol car.
In addition to the local speeding and failure to yield charges, the truckers were cited by the highway police for improper record keeping.
Both men were eventually transported to the county jail and released in the morning. They made a delivery at the Searcy Wal-Mart soon after, and departed for parts unknown.
Slater, however, has forwarded the men's names to the FBI because he suspects there may still be a terrorist connection.
"It just doesn't make sense," he said.
"First, they failed to stop for a traffic violation, and they fled. That gives you some suspicion that something is wrong. Then the co-driver jumped in the back seat and didn't come out without being commanded. And the driver said he has known the passenger for only about 20 days.
"There are a lot of holes that didn't make sense," he continued. "We don't have the resources [at the Sheriff's Department] to dig into this like the FBI does, so I contacted them."
The FBI will contact Slater if a further arrest is made.
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