Girl who assaulted elderly Sikh in Britain denied bail

A British court has rejected the bail plea of a teenaged girl charged with severely assaulting an elderly Sikh and remanded her to custody till Nov 25.

The Coventry Magistrates Court Monday ordered that Coral Millerchip, 19, be remanded to custody till Nov 25 when she will appear before the Coventry Crown Court, according to the Coventry Telegraph.

Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showed the pony-tailed girl, accompanied by three young males, kicking and knocking down the 80-year-old Sikh on Trinity Street in Coventry city centre around 8.30 p.m. Aug 10.

The victim, who suffered a cut nose and swelling, hails from the Canley neighbourhood of the city.

Millerchip also spat on the victim and verbally abused him.

Police in that British Midlands city arrested the girl Friday from another area in the city and produced her in court Monday.

Defence lawyer Shane Hennigan's plea that the accused be tried in the Coventry Magistrates Court was also turned down and it was ordered that she face the Coventry Crown Court.

Meanwhile, there have been angry reactions to the incident in the social media.

India's Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said that the apparent racial attack on an elderly Sikh man in Britain was "intolerable" and the British government should ensure the strictest punishment to the guilty.