Man breaks down door of Punjabi woman and rapes her in ‘appalling racist attack’

A woman was followed home, raped and called a ‘p*** b****’ in a ‘racially aggravated’ attack in Walsall.

Neighbours heard the woman, in her 20s, scream for help during the attack in the Park Hall area of Walsall on Saturday evening.

The survivor, in her 20s, had been raped and assaulted after being followed home by a man she did not know, police said.

The force confirmed the rape was being treated as ‘racially aggravated’.

Police released CCTV footage of a man walking in a park appearing to try and do up a dark coat.

West Midlands Police have now had two racially aggravated rapes of young women in the last two months.

The latest attacker is described as white, aged in his 30s, with short hair and wearing dark clothing at the time of the attack which took place at around 7.15pm.

Dabinderjit Singh OBE, a Lead Executive for the Sikh Federation (UK) said: ‘We can now confirm from local sources the young woman that was subject to a racially aggravated rape in Walsall is a Punjabi woman.

‘This follows the racially aggravated rape of a young Sikh woman on 9 September in Oldbury.

‘The attacker apparently followed her and broke down the door of the house where she was living.

‘He was heard using the offensive P and B words during the rape.

‘A neighbour also heard her screams during the vicious attack.

‘West Midlands Police have now had two racially aggravated rape of young women in their 20s in the last two months and urgently need to find those responsible.’

Police released CCTV footage of the suspect and asked anyone who knows his identity to ring 999 immediately.

DS Ronan Tyrer, of West Midlands Police, said: ‘This was an absolutely appalling attack on a young woman, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to arrest the person responsible.

‘We have teams of officers recovering evidence and building a profile of the attacker so that he can be brought into custody as soon as possible.

‘While we are following multiple lines of enquiry right now, it’s vital that we get to hear from anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the area at the time.

‘It may be that you were driving through the area and have dashcam footage, or you have CCTV that we have not yet recovered. Your information could be the vital breakthrough that we need.

‘At this stage we are not linking this attack to any other offences.’

Last month, a Sikh woman was raped in grassland on Tame Road, Oldbury, in a sex attack also treated as racially aggravated by police.

Preet Kaur Gill MP, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, posted on X: ‘Deeply shocked and saddened that we are hearing of yet another racially aggravated rape this time in Walsall.’

In a statement on Sunday evening, West Midlands Police confirmed that officers from the public protection unit, local policing officers and forensic officers had worked overnight on the investigation.

Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby said: ‘Our focus is on supporting the investigators in identifying and arresting the attacker.

‘Walsall is a diverse area and we know the fear and concern that this awful attack will cause in our communities.

‘We have been speaking to people in the community today to listen to and understand their concerns and there will be an increased policing presence in the coming days.’

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police on 101.