New Delhi

Former Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh has written to the US envoy in India, urging the United States to stand by the Sikh drivers' community in the country, saying many of them are allegedly facing suspicion in the wake of a recent semi-truck crash in California.

Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian-origin truck driver, has been accused of causing the crash that left three people dead and several others injured. He allegedly rammed his truck into slow-moving traffic in Southern California on Tuesday, Fox News reported on Wednesday.

In his letter dated October 25 to US envoy Sergio Gor, Singh said, "I want to bring to your kind notice and through you, of the USA government that a recent unfortunate road accident by a Sikh driver in California is creating scare among the Sikh truckers in the USA".

He attributed this anxiety to the "aggressive publicity" in the media surrounding the incident.

The former MP emphasised, "I am not seeking any pardon for the Sikh driver, who should face the court." However, he noted that Jashanpreet's family in Punjab claims he is a baptised Sikh who has vowed not to consume drugs or alcohol.

The driver's family rejected allegations that he was intoxicated while driving, asserting that he is an "Amritdhari Sikh" (baptised Sikh).

Singh highlighted that approximately 100,000 Sikh drivers are an "indispensable component" of the American supply chain.

"For decades, they have been in this profession and have never been singled out like this. Now they are facing suspicion at truck stops," Singh stated in the letter, adding that Sikhs have been living in America since the beginning of the last century and have contributed to the growth of the US.

"I seek through you, immediate intervention by the US government, to stand by the Sikhs who always feel proud to be American citizens," Singh wrote in his letter.

Additionally, Singh wrote to India's ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, seeking support for the well-being of other Sikh drivers in America.

In the letter, he mentioned that the publicity of the case has cast a "shadow over the Sikh community", which has "successfully carved out an important position in the US economy".

Sikh drivers, especially on the long routes, have now become "an indispensable component of America's supply chain," he mentioned in his letter to Kwatra.

"There is already panic among a large number of Indian youths in America due to the new stringent immigrant rules," Singh added in the letter, dated October 25.

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Singh also requested that Kwatra assist the Sikh driver community in the US and help restore their confidence.