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Two people have been arrested on suspicion of the racially aggravated rape of a British Sikh woman in Oldbury, West Midlands, last month.West Midlands Police confirmed the arrests on Friday, saying the pair, a 49-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman from Sandwell, were also linked to a separate sexual assault on a woman in her 30s at Halesowen on Thursday night. That incident is not being treated as racially aggravated.The police statement said: “We were called at around 7 pm (local time Thursday) after a woman in her 30s reported she has been attacked in Hurst Green Park. This incident is not being treated as racially aggravated. The man and woman have this afternoon (Friday) subsequently been arrested in connection with a rape on Tame Road, Oldbury on Tuesday, September 9. They remain in custody for questioning.”The attack on the British Sikh woman, who is in her 20s, occurred on September 9 on Tame Road in Oldbury. Reports say the two white male attackers allegedly told the victim, “you don’t belong in this country, get out,” sparking shock and outrage across the community.The Sikh woman, in a statement issued through Sikh Youth UK, said: “All I was doing was going about my day on my way to work, and what has happened has deeply affected us. Through it all my family has been my rock, and my community has stood strong beside me.”UK crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers offered 20,000 pounds for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. British Sikh organisations also pledged 10,000 pounds for any footage that could help identify and convict the perpetrators.The case was raised in the UK Parliament, where home secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the attack. “The horror of a sexual assault motivated by race or ethnicity is absolutely appalling. I am sure that the whole House will join me in condemning such crimes in the strongest possible terms. This government will not stand for any incitement to racial hatred or violence,” she said.
