Hundreds pay their respects to late Old Bridge resident Divyendu Sinha during a candlelight vigil held July 18 at Old Bridge High School. Indian-American community leaders organized the vigil in response to Sinha’s June 25 murder. Five Old Bridge teenagers have been charged in the killing. SCOTT FRIEDMAN Electronic candles and signs reading “Justice for Dr. Sinha” proliferated the Old Bridge High School auditorium late Sunday morning when over 300 people gathered to pay tribute to the recently murdered township resident.

The three-hour candlelight vigil and memorial service held for Divyendu Sinha brought out residents, township and school officials, members of the Indian-American community and representatives of several organizations, many of whom expressed concerns regarding the nature of the murder.

Sinha, a computer scientist at Siemans and a professor at the College of Staten Island, was attacked as he walked near his Fela Drive home with members of his family around 11:40 p.m. on June 25. Sinha’s two sons — one is in high school and the other is 10 years old — reportedly sustained minor injuries during the attack, but his wife was not hurt. Sinha died three days later due to injuries sustained in the assault.

Police have arrested five Old Bridge teens, four age 17 and one age 16, charging each with the murder. The names of the suspects have been withheld due to their ages.

Authorities also alleged that the same five juveniles instigated a motor vehicle chase with a male Caucasian motorist less than five minutes before the assault. The driver of the other motor vehicle was able to escape the chase, which occurred on Prests Mill Road in Old Bridge, police said. However, the teens allegedly threw objects at his car, which was damaged.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan said that although it appeared that Sinha was attacked randomly, especially given the alleged assault on the Caucasian motorist, the decision of whether to file bias charges will be made after the investigation is complete.

But many members of the Indian community believe that Sinha’s murder was the result of racial bias, and several residents who took to the podium at the July 18 memorial service elaborated on those concerns and spoke of other incidents in Old Bridge that they believe were racially driven.

Nimesh Dave, speaking for the Federation of Indian Associations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, said his organization interviewed about 20 Old Bridge residents and neighbors of Sinha who “have repeatedly complained to the police and authorities” about instances of harassment around Old Bridge and bullying in the schools and on online social networks.

“No action unfortunately had been taken by the relevant authorities, and the complaints had largely not been acted upon and maybe in the process emboldened the perpetrators of the crime in question,” Dave said.

Peter Kothari, a local businessman who helped organize the service and acted as its emcee, said the intent of the service was not only to commemorate the life of Sinha, but also to raise awareness about the existence of such crimes in the township.

Kothari said the most important objective was to prevent “hate crimes” in the community, and to ensure that what happened to Sinha never happens again.

“We want to send condolences to the family, we want to pray for God to give us strength through this loss, and we also want to send a clear and loud message that this kind of situation should be prevented in the future,” he said.

Several local officials also spoke at the service, with many addressing the potential bias nature of the murder.

“This was a horrific crime — I recall few in my lifetime that I find so disturbing,” said state Assemblyman Sam Thompson. “But I don’t view this as an attack on the Indian community. I view this as an attack on the entire community, because I don’t separate the two.”

Old Bridge Superintendent of Schools Simon Bosco discussed the presence of bullying in the schools, and addressed recent complaints by residents that not enough has been done to punish students for racially biased bullying.

“There have been issues brought to my attention regarding bullying or bias, and we are investigating these claims thoroughly. In times of fear and grief and anger, many things can be said,” Bosco said, noting that several residents have criticized the school for not punishing more prominent students. “But we will continue to do the best we can.”

Bosco said he has watched the township grow in population and diversity over the course of his 40 years working in the district, and that Sinha’s death and the potential motivation for the murder are shocking considering the “tightly woven fabric of multicultural and multiethnic residents.”

The memorial service kicked off with a series of live Indian songs, while a large picture of Sinha sat on stage along with Indian and American flags. The audience was somber during the first half of the event, but with each speech thereafter, attendees became more resolute in accomplishing the community’s primary objective: to bring justice.

“Ghandi said, ‘An eye for an eye will make everyone blind,’” said Mangal Gupta, who spoke about the Indian community. “We are not seeking to inflict the same violent punishment on the perpetrators. That doesn’t accomplish anything. But we do demand justice.”

And justice may very well be served — speakers throughout the ceremony called for the suspects to be tried as adults, and at the conclusion of the memorial service, Kothari announced that the prosecutor’s office will be seeking a waiver in court to do just that.

The audience gave an enthusiastic round of applause upon hearing the news, and perhaps exited the service with a little more hope than they arrived with.