A 33-year-old American woman has been sent in jail for 24 years for killing an Indian man. The woman actually pushed the man in front of a subway train. The court learnt that the woman’s lethal action was triggered by her hatred for Hindus and Muslims.

In March, Erika Menendez had pleaded guilty before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak for pushing Sunando Sen, 46, in front of the train that claimed his life. She shoved the man when the subway train entered the station on the night of December 27, 2012.

When asked for the reason behind her act, Menendez said that she could not remember what drove her to push the man to death. Judge Lasak expressed his anger the way Sen was killed before announcing the sentence for her.

“For whatever reason, when you gave your statement to police after you were arrested, you said, ‘I hate Muslims and the Hindus.’ Do you remember that?” the judge asked

The judge said that she chose Sen as her target after seeing him on that platform and executed her plan that involved standing behind him and following him before giving him the final push to death.

Lasak said the act of Menendez terrorized the whole city, adding that it is a particularly brutal homicide. Judge Lasak said that the act has raised doubts in the minds of many people who commute through trains to work or school or other destinations over their safety.

Sen was pushed from behind and there was no chance for him to save himself from a certain death. Menendez said that Sen tried to save himself from falling onto the track, but failed because the attack was too sudden.