A 50-year-old Sikh man was beaten up multiple times by two white men who yelled racial slurs that "You're not welcome here!, Go back to your country!" in the US state of California, prompting police to investigate the "heinous" hate crime, authorities said.

The incident happened last week in California as the man was putting up campaign signs along a rural stretch on the outskirts of Keyes, the police said. Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said the assault is being investigated as a hate crime.