New York: A 28-year-old Indian-origin man has been arrested in the US on hate crime charges after he allegedly assaulted a Jewish man as part of so-called "knock-out attacks." Amrit Marajh of Brooklyn is charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime and misdemeanour assault, the New York Police Department said. The arrest came amid investigations by law enforcement officials into increasing incidents of random "knock-out attacks" where young assailants try to knock out unsuspecting victims with a punch. Police say Marajh assaulted a 24-year-old Jewish man wearing a yarmulke on Friday in Brooklyn after he was talking about the knockout games with three other men. A report in the New York Daily News said Marajh voiced an anti-Semitic statement before attacking his victim.

All four men were taken into police custody shortly after the early morning attack but only Marajh is believed to have participated in the assault. Marajh was in court yesterday for his arraignment hearing on misdemeanour assault and harassment charges and has been released on USD 750 bail. Marajh had left a local bar here with four friends and was talking about boxing when the "knockout" game came up, police said. He allegedly boasted that he could knock out his victim after one of his friends challenged him. Marajh allegedly said, "Yes I can. I'll do it to this guy right now!" He punched the young Jewish man and hurled an anti-Semitic slur. The growing incidents of 'knock-out' assaults have raised concerns across the country after a spate of such attacks in New York, New Haven, Washington, and Philadelphia. In New Haven, police spokesman David Hartman said police are investigating six incidents in the last month as part of the knockout trend.