The Indian Panorama

Tag: Connecticut

  • East Texas town’s police chief, others urge citizens to arm themselves

    East Texas town’s police chief, others urge citizens to arm themselves

    HUGHES SPRINGS, TX (TIP): A Texas police chief who warns President Barack Obama in a social media video that trying to disarm Americans would “cause a revolution in this country” is the latest law enforcement official to urge citizens to arm themselves in the wake of mass shootings.

    Randy Kennedy, longtime chief in the small East Texas town of Hughes Springs, about 120 miles east of Dallas, says in the video posted this week on his personal Facebook page that the Second Amendment was established to protect people from criminals and “terrorists and radical ideology.”

    “It’s also there to protect us against a government that has overreached its power,” Kennedy says in the video. “You are not our potentate, sir. You are our servant.”

    He warned people in his town to prepare themselves: “Be ready when the wolf comes to the door, because it’s on its way.” Law enforcement officials in Arizona, Florida and New York also have recently prompted citizens to arm themselves – some using similar comments aimed at terrorism. Kennedy said his call to arms was the result of his disappointment with Obama’s Oval Office speech Sunday in which the president vowed the U.S. will overcome a new phase of the terror threat that seeks to “poison the minds” of people here and around the world. The police chief told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he’s not asking residents to turn into vigilantes or “become super action heroes.”

    He said feedback on his video has been supportive for the most part. “There have been a few extremely nasty comments, calling me basically a backwoods redneck hick creating monsters that don’t exist,” he said.

    Wayne Ivey, the sheriff in Brevard County, Florida, said in a video post on the department’s Facebook page over the weekend that political leaders appear more interested in being politically correct than protecting people. He urged residents to arm themselves as a first line of defense against an active shooter.

    “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Ivey said.

    Another Florida sheriff, Steve Whidden in Hendry County, this week encouraged more people to carry weapons because “we as a nation are under attack by radical Islamic terrorists.”

    Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona issued a statement Tuesday asking “legally armed citizens to take a stand, and take action during a mass shooting/terrorist event until law enforcement arrives.”

    And last week, Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum in upstate New York called for licensed gun owners in his county to arm themselves when leaving home, citing mass shootings in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.

    John Moritz, spokesman for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said he assumes the comments from Kennedy, the Texas chief, reflect the views held in his community. But Moritz said caution should be used when giving such instructions to people who have no law enforcement training.

    “Most times citizens are going to be best served and best protected by calling trained law enforcement officers whenever they feel their lives or property are in danger,” Moritz said.

    The FBI said last week that it processed a record number of firearms background checks on Black Friday, the busy shopping time the day after Thanksgiving. The agency processed 185,345 background checks – roughly two per second – the same day that three people were killed and nine others wounded in an attack at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado.

    The previous record for the most background checks in a single day was Dec. 21, 2012, about a week after 20 children and six adults were shot to death in a Connecticut elementary school. The week following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary saw the processing of 953,613 gun background checks.

  • Indian-Origin Scientist Developes New 3D Software to Track Embryonic Development

    Indian-Origin Scientist Developes New 3D Software to Track Embryonic Development

    WASHINGTON:  An Indian-origin scientist has developed a new, open-source software that can help track the embryonic development and movement of neuronal cells throughout the body of the worm, and is now available to scientists.

    The software is described in a paper published in the open access journal, eLife on December 3rd by researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the Center for Information Technology (CIT); along with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York City; Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Zhejiang University, China; and the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. NIBIB is part of the National Institutes of Health.
    Although scientists have identified a number of important proteins that determine how neurons navigate during brain formation, it is largely unknown how all of these proteins interact in a living organism.

    “Understanding why and how neurons form and the path they take to reach their final destination could one day give us valuable information about how proteins and other molecular factors interact during neuronal development,” explained Hari Shroff, head of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) research team.

    The new technology will be pivotal in their project to create a 4D neurodevelopmental “worm atlas” that attempts to catalog the formation of the worm nervous system.

    This catalog will be the first comprehensive view of how an entire nervous system develops.

    According to Mr Shroff, it will be helpful in understanding the fundamental mechanisms by which all nervous systems, including ours, assemble.

    They also expect that some of the concepts developed, such as the approach taken to combine neuronal data from multiple embryos, can be applied to additional model organisms besides the worm.

    “We do not yet understand neurodevelopment even in the context of the humble worm but we’re using it as a simple model of how these factors work together to drive the development of the worm brain and neuronal structure,” he informed.

    “We are hoping that by doing so, some of the lessons will translate all the way up to humans,” Mr Shroff added.

    The worm known as C elegans has only 302 neurons, 222 of which form while the worm is still an embryo.

    The worm even has its own versions of many of the same proteins used to direct brain formation in more complex organisms such as flies, mice, or humans.

  • San Bernardino shooting: At least 14 killed, 17 injured in California

    San Bernardino shooting: At least 14 killed, 17 injured in California

    SAN BERNARDINO , CA (TIP): Gunmen opened fire on a holiday party on Wednesday, December 2, at a social services agency in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 17 others, then fled the scene, triggering an intense manhunt that ended several hours later in a police firefight that left two suspected shooters dead.

    By the end of the carnage, investigators tallied 14 victims and 21 wounded – considered the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history since Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

    A Timeline of chaos in San Bernardino, California

    Wednesday, December 2, 11 a.m. PT | Initial 911 calls report shots fired at the InlandRegionalCenter, a state-run facility that serves people with developmental disabilities. Police say the shooting took place during a holiday party and lasted only a few minutes before the suspects fled. They had fired some 75 rifle rounds.

    One of the suspects – later identified as county health inspector Syed Rizwan Farook, 28 – had attended the party that morning, according to reports, but reportedly left after a dispute. Police believe between 10 and 30 minutes went by between Farook’s departure and the suspect’s return to the conference room.

    11:07 a.m. | Firefighters begin arriving at the scene within seven minutes of the first 911 calls.

    11:20 a.m. | Julie Paez, an inspector with the county’s Department of Health attending the holiday party, sends a text to her family, the Los Angeles Times reported: “Love you guys. Was shot,” it read. Paez survived two gunshot wounds and a broken pelvis.

    11:40 a.m. | Police begin reporting multiple victims shot at the scene. Several roads are shut down in the area.

    12:25 p.m. | Police say they are looking for as many as three shooters after sweeping the building and determining the suspects fled. Emergency responders are also seen treating people outside and ambulances rush in and out to take the injured to the hospital.

    12:30 p.m. | President Obama is briefed on the shooting by Homeland Security. “It does appear that there are going to be some casualties, and obviously our hearts go out to the victims and the families,” he later tells CBS News.

    1:05 p.m. | Police confirm at least three people were killed. Reports come out from family members of survivors who say the shooters were wearing “military-style” attire.

    2 p.m. | Police confirm at a news conference that there are 14 dead and 17 wounded. Area buildings are on lockdown as authorities search for the suspects.

    2:30 p.m. | San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan declines to say what kind of weapons were used, but that the shooters “were on a mission” and “came in with a purpose.”

    3:05 p.m. | Reports come in of police in pursuit of a black SUV that had fled the scene. A shootout with police ensues a few miles away.

    3:20 p.m. | Police aim guns at a dark-colored SUV with shattered windows on a residential street. A firefight ensues. Nearly two dozen officers fired some 380 rounds at the suspects. The suspects return fire with 76 rounds. Local media reports say a person appears to be on the ground, but it is unclear who they are or what their injuries may be.

    3:30 p.m. | Police confirm shots have been fired and a suspect is down near the SUV. According to reports, a male suspect’s body is on the street, while a female suspect’s body has been pulled from the car. Some 1,600 unused rounds are found on the two suspects, police would later say.

    San Bernardino police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said one officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the shootout.

    5:05 p.m. | Police serve a search warrant on a home in Redlands in connection with the shooting. An Associated Press reporter watched as a half-dozen vehicles carrying helmeted police drove into the area. One officer carrying an assault rifle ordered reporters to clear the area, and an armored vehicle parked outside a row of homes.

    5:50 p.m. | Police say a person was detained who was seen running near the gunbattle, but it was not clear if that person is connected to the shooting.

    7:40 p.m. | A law enforcement official has identified Farook as one of the suspects in a mass shooting in Southern California. Police also confirm that the two suspects – Farook and a woman – were killed in the gunbattle.

    8:55 p.m. | The brother-in-law of Farook says at a news conference that he was stunned to hear of his relative’s alleged involvement in the shooting. Farhan Khan, who is married to the sister of Farook, spoke to reporters at the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

    Khan says he last spoke to Farook about a week ago. He added that he had “absolutely no idea why he would do this. I am shocked myself.”

    10:10 p.m. | Police say they believe the man and woman killed in the gunbattle were the only two shooters. Burguan identifies the woman killed as 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, who is described as Farook’s wife.

    The couple had been living in Redlands with Farook’s mother.

    No motive is known, but terrorism has not been ruled out.

    Thursday, December 3 (Updated till the press time)

    7:35 a.m. PT | Loma Linda University Medical Center CEO Kerry Heinrich says of the five patients being treated at its facility, two remain in critical condition and three are in stable condition.

    8:10 a.m. | Obama says the FBI is leading the investigation, and that it’s still unclear whether the shooting was either terrorism-related or workplace-related.

    He adds that legislators and all Americans have a part to play to make sure that “when individuals want to do harm, we make it a little harder for them to do it.”

    9:30 a.m. | Law enforcement officials tell NBC News that the SUV in which Farook and Malik made their getaway, and in which they were killed in a gunbattle with police, was a rental with Utah plates.

    Officials say Farook rented it “recently,” which they believe was another step in preparation for the attack.

    9:45 a.m. | Police at a news conference say the suspects fired as many as 75 rounds at the InlandRegionalCenter, and then another 76 rounds during the pursuit with police. A remote-controlled car with three pipe bombs was also found at the social services center but it did not detonate, Burguan says.

    Officials add that a second officer was wounded during the police shootout. The overall number of wounded rises to 21 from 17.

    The search of the Redlands home, where the couple’s name was on the lease, also turns up an additional 12 pipe bomb devices and thousands of rounds of ammo, police say.
    “Clearly they were equipped” to launch another attack if they wanted to, Burguan adds.

    The FBI confirms that Farook had rented the SUV – a black Ford Expedition – about three or four days ago, and it was supposed to be returned on the day of the rampage.

    10:15 a.m. | Farook appears to have been radicalized, authorities tell NBC News. The extent of his radicalization wasn’t immediately clear, but he had been in touch with persons of interest in the Los Angeles area who have expressed jihadist-oriented views.

    The Inland Regional Center is one of 21 facilities set up by the state and run under contract by non-profit organizations to serve people with developmental disabilities, said Nancy Lungren, spokeswoman for the California Department of Developmental Services.

    STRING OF SHOOTINGS

    So far in 2015, there have been more than 350 shootings in which four or more people were wounded, according to the crowd-sourced website shootingtracker.com, which keeps a running tally of U.S. gun violence.

    The shooting in California comes less than a week after a gunman killed three people and wounded nine in a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In October, a gunman killed nine people at a college in Oregon, and in June, a white gunman killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina.

    Gun control advocates, including Democratic President Barack Obama, say easy access to firearms is a major factor in the shooting epidemic, while the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun advocates say the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees Americans the right to bear arms.

  • 3 Indian Americans earn honorable mentions, Indian teen places 2nd at Action For Nature awards

    3 Indian Americans earn honorable mentions, Indian teen places 2nd at Action For Nature awards

    NEW YORK (TIP): A cadre of Indian American youth was among the winners announced by Action For Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Awards, with three individuals earning honorable mentions while one youngster of Indian-origin took home a second place prize.

    According to its website, Action For Nature’s award honors the work of young people between the ages of 8 and 16 who have executed creative environmental projects.

    The judges are experts in environmental science, biology, and environmental health, and the winners receive a cash prize and a special certificate.

    Aarushee Nair was the sole prize winner, slotting in at runner-up in the competition’s 13 to 16 age group.

    Nair, of Haryana, India, earned the award for her design of the Blu Pak, a biodegradable container that can hold 350 milliliters of clean drinking water and has a packet of oral rehydration salts pasted on the side. It also has a small beak-shaped outlet so that fluids can be easily administered to infants. She designed the Blu Pak after learning that thousands of Indian children under the age of 5 were dying due to a lack of clean drinking water.

    Sai Sameer Pusapaty, 16, of Texas, received an honorable mention in the 13-16 age group for his efforts in promoting the importance of recycling, according to Action for Nature. After realizing many people don’t understand what can be recycled and how, he developed tools for his community to make recycling easier and more efficient.

    He even developed a mobile app that he calls Recycle Buddy. It can scan a UPC or QR code and display the recycling information for any given product. It can also perform generic lookups for disposal information based on the material and the item type.

    Anuj Sisodiya, 16, of Connecticut also earned an honorable mention for embarking on a project to mitigate the energy waste caused by holiday lighting that is left on during the day.

    He created a project that encouraged the use of an electrical light timer to prevent lights and lighting displays from being left on for extended hours.

    Using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, his Web site, public canvassing, and booths at grocery stores, he distributed free electrical light timers to help save energy across town.

    Furthermore, he formed a team of school volunteers who devoted approximately 500 volunteer hours, and he worked with town leaders, energy company program managers, and vendors to effectively execute his project.

    By creating a sample study of his local community he learned that this campaign had the potential to save about 1 million-kilowatt hours of power in the town of Trumbull, Conn. preventing up to 1.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide being released into the environment.

    Anirudh Suri notched a third honorable mention for Indian Americans after he masterminded a successful recycling program in his local community to cut down on battery waste.

    With the help of his school principal, Anirudh developed the One Cell program. He purchased envelopes for collecting batteries, customized them, and sent them home with students to return with all the used batteries inside their homes.

    Anirudh began the program when he was 9 years old and 5 years later the program is still growing. His goal for One Cell is to expand the program to more schools so that he can collect more batteries.

    In the past three years, he has collected more than 1100 pounds of batteries. This year his goal is to collect over 700 pounds.

  • Indian American Professor Kartik Chandran Wins Macarthur ‘Genius’ Grant

    Indian American Professor Kartik Chandran Wins Macarthur ‘Genius’ Grant

    Kartik Chandran, an IIT Roorkee graduate, associate professor of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia Engineering, has been named a 2015 MacArthur Fellow for his work in “transforming wastewater from a pollutant requiring disposal to a resource for useful products, such as commodity chemicals, energy sources, and fertilizers.”

    He joins a distinguished group of 24 talented people who have all demonstrated exceptional originality and dedication to their creative pursuits, as well as a marked capacity for self-direction. The “genius grant” comes with a $625,000 stipend that is given with no conditions—fellows may use the money as they see fit.

    “When I received the call telling me that I had been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, I was rather overwhelmed,” Chandran said.

    “I’d just returned to New York from India after a 24-hour flight and couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”

    He called the fellowship a “great honour which carries with it immense responsibility and provides ever more motivation to continue expanding my scientific horizons and boundaries and help solve global societal and human challenges.”

    Chandran’s research on the global nitrogen cycle and engineered wastewater treatment has been widely recognized.

    In 2011 he received a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a transformative new model in water and sanitation in Africa.

    His work is focused on integrating microbial ecology, molecular biology, and engineering to transform wastewater, sewage, and other “waste” streams from problematic pollutants to valuable resources in addition to clean water.

    Chandran’s approach to transform wastewater into fertilisers, chemicals, and energy sources also takes into account today’s climate, energy, and nutrient challenges.

    Chandran, who joined the Engineering School in 2005, is the third SEAS professor in six years to receive a MacArthur grant. He has also won the Water Environment Research Foundation Paul L. Busch Award (2010), a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2009), and a National Academies of Science Fellowship (2007). His appointments prior to joining Columbia include his role as a senior technical specialist (2001–2004) with the private engineering firm Metcalf and Eddy of New York, where he contributed to New York City’s efforts to achieve significant improvements to its water quality. Chandran earned a BS (1995) from the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee) and a PhD (1999) from the University of Connecticut.

    The MacArthur Fellowship grants are awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

  • Indian-American group condemns Ann Coulter’s swipe at Nikki Haley

    Indian-American group condemns Ann Coulter’s swipe at Nikki Haley

    The head of a top Indian-American advocacy group on Wednesday condemned Ann Coulter’s comments that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley doesn’t understand America because she’s “an immigrant” with roots in India.

    “It’s a demographic death march that the Republican Party is on. This is a country of immigrants,” said Sanjay Puri, chairman and founder of the U.S.-India Political Action Committee.

    Puri noted that not only was Haley born in America to immigrant parents, but Coulter’s ancestors were likely also immigrants to the United States. He said that the comments are offensive for “presuming that immigrants don’t understand American history.”

    On Tuesday, Coulter appeared on the Fox Business Network and condemned Haley for calling for the Confederate battle flag to be taken down from outside the State Capitol. “I would really like to like Nikki Haley since she is a Republican,” Coulter said, but added that the South Carolina governor “is an immigrant and does not understand America’s history.”

    Haley was, in fact, born in South Carolina in 1972. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Indian state of Punjab.

    Coulter’s comments were a sharp departure from the views of fellow Republicans such as Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Donald Trump, all of whom have agreed with the governor that it’s time for the flag to come down.

    She emphasized that, though she is from Connecticut, she believes the flag is an important part of Southern history.

    “The Confederate flag we’re talking about never flew over an official Confederate building,” Coulter said. “It was a battle flag. It is to honor Robert E. Lee. And anyone who knows the first thing about military history knows that there is no greater army that ever took the field than the Confederate Army.”

    Coulter said the fact that Dylann Roof, the alleged killer of nine African Americans in last week’s attack in South Carolina, showcased the flag in photos is irrelevant. The shooting, she said, “had nothing to do with the Confederate flag. He was also wearing a Gold’s Gym T-shirt.”

    The conservative pundit appeared on the show to promote her new book “Adios, America: The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole,” which was published June 1.

  • Nebraska abolishes death penalty in landmark override vote

    Nebraska abolishes death penalty in landmark override vote

    LINCOLN (TIP): Nebraska abolished the death penalty on May 27 in a landmark veto-override vote backed by an unusual coalition of conservatives who oppose capital punishment.

    Senators in the one-house Legislature voted 30-19 to override Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who supports the death penalty. The vote makes Nebraska the first traditionally conservative state to eliminate the punishment since North Dakota in 1973.

    Nebraska joins 18 other states and the District of Columbia in banning the ultimate punishment.

    Some senators said they philosophically support the death penalty, but are convinced the state will never carry out another execution because of legal obstacles. Nebraska hasn’t executed an inmate since a 1997 electrocution, and the state has never done so with its current lethal injection protocol.

    Nebraska lost its ability to execute inmates in December 2013, when one of the three lethal injection drugs required by state law expired.

    Ricketts announced this month that the state has purchased two of the drugs that the state now lacks, but opponents have said they still aren’t convinced Nebraska will be able to resume executions. On Tuesday, Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson implored lawmakers to give state officials more time to prepare.

    The repeal bill was introduced by independent Sen. Ernie Chambers, who has fought for nearly four decades to repeal the death penalty.

    Nebraska’s action to repeal the death penalty is unusual because of its traditionally conservative leanings. Maryland was the last state to end capital punishment, in 2013. Three other moderate-to-liberal states have done so in recent years: New Mexico in 2009, Illinois in 2011 and Connecticut in 2012.

    Nebraska’s officially nonpartisan Legislature is comprised of 35 registered Republicans, 13 Democrats and an independent. A Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman said Wednesday that the agency was investigating death threats left on the answering machine of a state senator who supports the repeal.

    The last time lawmakers passed a death penalty repeal bill was in 1979, but senators at the time didn’t have enough votes to override a gubernatorial veto.

  • Indian American Sanjay Patel Shot dead in Robbery Attempt at US Gas Station

    Indian American Sanjay Patel Shot dead in Robbery Attempt at US Gas Station

    NEW YORK  TIP: A 39-year-old Indian man has been shot dead by two masked men during an apparent robbery attempt at a gas station in the US state of Connecticut where he worked.

    Sanjay Patel, who worked as a clerk at the gas station in New Haven, was shot three times in the chest and once in the hand by two masked men on Monday night.

    A report in NBC Connecticut said Mr Patel was taken to the Yale-New Haven Hospital where he died an hour later.

    Police said they were searching for the two men as the investigation continued.

    Mr Patel’s wife was pregnant with their first child.

    The report quoted New Haven Police as saying that a gunfire broke out at the gas station around 7:30 pm local time during the apparent robbery.

    Gas station-owner Raj Ali told NBC that the robbers took Mr Patel’s life “for a couple hundred dollars. It’s not worth it. It’s bad.”

    Witnesses said they saw two masked men running from the scene after the incident.

    “We are looking for two people that may be involved,” said New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman.

    “We don’t necessarily believe that two were firing guns. We know at least one was.”

    Police said they don’t believe there were any customers inside the gas station store when the robbers walked in and will check surveillance video as part of the investigation.

  • Indian American Sanjay Patel Shot dead in Robbery Attempt at US Gas Station

    Indian American Sanjay Patel Shot dead in Robbery Attempt at US Gas Station

    NEW YORK (Press Trust of India) TIP:  A 39-year-old Indian man has been shot dead by two masked men during an apparent robbery attempt at a gas station in the US state of Connecticut where he worked.

    Sanjay Patel, who worked as a clerk at the gas station in New Haven, was shot three times in the chest and once in the hand by two masked men on Monday night.

    A report in NBC Connecticut said Mr Patel was taken to the Yale-New Haven Hospital where he died an hour later. 

    Police said they were searching for the two men as the investigation continued.

    Mr Patel’s wife was pregnant with their first child.

    The report quoted New Haven Police as saying that a gunfire broke out at the gas station around 7:30 pm local time during the apparent robbery.

    Gas station-owner Raj Ali told NBC that the robbers took Mr Patel’s life “for a couple hundred dollars. It’s not worth it. It’s bad.”

    Witnesses said they saw two masked men running from the scene after the incident.

    “We are looking for two people that may be involved,” said New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman.

    “We don’t necessarily believe that two were firing guns. We know at least one was.”

    Police said they don’t believe there were any customers inside the gas station store when the robbers walked in and will check surveillance video as part of the investigation.

  • Indian Govt’s Help Sought to Get Body of Gujarati Man Killed in USA

    ANAND:  The family of a 39-year-old man from Anand district in Gujarat, who was shot dead in the USA in an attack, sought the Indian government’s help on Tuesday to get his body back.

    “We request the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help us to bring back my brother’s dead body from the USA,” Kalpana Patel, sister of the deceased Sanjay Patel said.

    Sanjay Vinubhai Patel (39), was killed by two unidentified gunmen at 7.30 pm (United States time) in New Haven city in Connecticut state yesterday.

    Kalpana Patel said that her brother who worked as a clerk in a grocery stall was on the night shift when two gunmen shot him dead.

    Victim’s brother Vipul Patel said that the Indian government must talk to their counterparts in the USA to stop such fatal attacks on Indians. “This time my brother was killed. Earlier three people from Gujarat including an elderly man was attacked in the USA.

    The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi should discuss this issue with the US authorities to stop such attacks against Gujaratis. But first of all, the government must help us get my brother’s body,” Vipul Patel said.

    Sanjay had gone to the USA in 1998 and married a Gujarati girl called Bhavna last year, who is now six months pregnant with his first child, Vipul said.

    Earlier, two incidents of attacks on Gujaratis occurred in the USA, where a Gujarati businessman Amit Patel was gunned down in January, while an elderly Gujarati man named Sureshbhai Patel was assaulted by the police in February, which had made him paralytic.

  • Indian American Entrepreneurs Charged With Insider Trading in US

    Indian American Entrepreneurs Charged With Insider Trading in US

    NEW YORK:  Two Indian-origin entrepreneurs have been charged by the US authorities with insider trading for making over a million dollars in illegal profits through the proposed acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber by India’s Apollo Tyres.

    Amit Kanodia of Massachusetts, a 47-year-old entrepreneur and private equity investor, and his long-time friend Iftikar Ahmed of Connecticut, a general partner at a venture capital firm have been charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a complaint filed in US district court in Connecticut.

    The SEC is seeking to have Mr Kanodia and Mr Ahmed return their allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest and pay civil monetary penalties.

    The US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts today announced parallel criminal charges against Kanodia and Ahmed.

    Mr Ahmed, 43, is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi and Harvard Business School, while Kanodia received degrees from the University of Massachusetts.

    While the acquisition of American company Cooper by Apollo was never completed, the SEC complaint said that Cooper Tire’s stock price jumped 41 per cent when the acquisition was announced in June 2013.

    The SEC alleges that Mr Kanodia tipped Mr Ahmed and another friend prior to the acquisition announcement after learning of the deal from his wife, who was Apollo’s general counsel at the time, more than two months before the merger was announced.

    “Trading on insider information is fraud, plain and simple,” US Attorney Carmen Ortiz in Boston said.

    The SEC said, Mr Kanodia shared the highly confidential information with Ahmed who began buying significant amounts of Cooper Tire stock and options.

    Once news of the deal was public, Mr Ahmed immediately liquidated his Cooper Tire holdings, reaping more than 1.1 million dollars of ill-gotten profits, according to the complaint.

    The SEC said, Mr Ahmed later paid Mr Kanodia a kickback by transferring $ 220,000 to Lincoln Charitable Foundation, a supposed charity that Mr Kanodia controlled and used to mask kickbacks.

    A second close friend of Mr Kanodia, identified in the complaint as ‘Tippee 1’, also profited by trading on the confidential information provided by him and paid a portion of his illicit gains to Mr Kanodia using the same charity, the SEC’s complaint alleges.

    SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit Co-Deputy Chief Joseph Sansone said that Mr Kanodia gave inside information to two close friends who then paid a portion of their insider trading profits to a supposed charity that Mr Kanodia controlled.

    “Despite Mr Kanodia’s attempts at concealment, the SEC staff was able to uncover and unravel the scheme,” Sansone said.

    The SEC’s complaint charges Mr Kanodia and Mr Ahmed with violating federal anti-fraud laws and a related SEC rule.

    The SEC named Rakitfi Holdings LLC, a company owned by Mr Ahmed, and Lincoln Charitable Foundation as relief defendants.

    Apollo had agreed to buy Cooper Tire and Rubber for about $2.5 billion in 2013. The merger was abandoned in December that year.

  • Friends of MP Conclave draws thousands

    Friends of MP Conclave draws thousands

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): “I am here to make friends”, said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, amid applause from the audience, at the Friends of MP conclave at the iconic Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, February 1.

     

    Despite inclement weather more than 3000 people traveled to the centre of New York  to cheer Shivraj Singh Chouhan, when he arrived here to launch the initiative to connect the global  citizens with Madhya Pradesh and India. On the second day of his six-day visit to the tri-state area on  the US East Coast, Chauhan formally launched the Friends of Madhya Pradesh initiative (www.friendsofmp.com).

     

    The website is the  first of its kind of initiative by any state in the country following suggestion by  Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi that sought the creation of a global talent pool as a network of its friends anywhere in the world.

     

    Amid claps of a full house filled with NRIs, state senators, US congressmen and congresswomen, and other important business and community leaders from across New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut and other neighborhoods, beats of drums and dholaks, the fluttering of national flag, Chief Minister  and guests on the dais formally inaugurated the website friendsofmp.com by putting hands on the globe that symbolized the connected world and with that the site went live on a giant screen right above the stage.

     

    In his half-hour Hindi speech interrupted by loud applauses at several intervals and slogans in praise of Bharat Mata (Mother India) on various occasions, the chief minister stated that his government for the last decade has not only been undertaking welfare measures, but also useful employment-generating programs that have changed the face of the state.

     

    With GDP at  11.08 percent and more than 20%   rise in agricultural production in the last several years, the state has become one of the fastest growing states in the country.

     

    Citing estimates and positive outlook, he said India would soon overtake China in economic growth and Madhya Pradesh will take a significant part in that process.

     

    He mentioned that after Narendra Modi became the prime minister in May 2014, the self-confidence level of Indians-inside and outside the country-has risen in a significant way. Now  no longer the “policy paralysis”, the hallmark of the previous government, exists at the Center and in states.He added that Modi is not just the leader of India, but he is on the path to becoming a world leader. He spoke of the assets of his state-  a 24-hour power supply, availability of enough water, and calm and peaceful industrial climate. Around 26,000 hectares of land bank has been created to cater for potential investment and industrial opportunities. Steps are being taken to ensuring up to 30 percent police force is female in order to tackle more efficiently the crimes being perpetrated against women.

     

    He spoke about several issues that included religious harmony, America-India relations, and BJP’s determination in providing good governance and clean administration.

     

    Chief Minister  honored the recipients  of recent Padma awards on the occasion and praised their contributions and sought their services to India in general and the central state in particular.

     

    “I bring the best wishes of 7.5 crore (75 million) residents of Madhya Pradesh to you all,” he said. “You contributed to this society immensely and now you must do the same to India, your motherland.”

     

    A view of the gathering singing the American National Anthem Photos/ TIP- Prashant Desai-pradev98@yahoo.com 732-318-0130
    A view of the gathering singing the American National Anthem Photos/ TIP- Prashant Desai-pradev98@yahoo.com 732-318-0130
    Singing the national anthem
    Singing the national anthem

  • A Benevolent Law Abused

    A Benevolent Law Abused

    Racketeers use SIJS to make big money

    By I.S. Saluja & The Indian Panorama Investigative Team

    Number of Undocumented Children Who Cross U.S. Border Alone Has Tripled

    (The Pew Charitable Trusts: May 9, 2013)

    Each year, thousands of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) risk harrowing journeys and travel alone to seek refuge in the United States. These children come from all over the world for many reasons, including to escape persecution in their home countries, to reunify with family members and to look for a better life. In recent years, the U.S. government has had roughly 6,000-8,000 of these children in its care and custody each year. While these children may be as young as infants, most (approximately 70 percent) have been between the ages of 15 and 17. – Women’s Refugee Commission

    (The Migrationist: August 8, 2013)

    Hundreds of thousands of youth (under age 18) attempt to enter the U.S. every year. Some come with their families, others alone, either of their own will seeking jobs, protection and family reunification or they are smuggled into the country for sweatshop labor or sexual exploitation. The exact number of children who attempt to enter the country is unknown. In 2005, the U.S. granted legal permanent resident (LPR) status to 175,000 children under 14 years of age and to 196,000 youth ages 15 to 24. Twenty thousand youth ages 17 and under were accepted as refugees and 2,000 were granted asylum in the same year. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) apprehended almost 122,000 juveniles in the U.S. in 2004. Of this total, 84.6 percent were released back to Mexico, or in rare cases to Canada.

    (National Juvenile Justice Network)

    It has been said the crooks will always find creeks to enter any system in the world. And when the system is welcoming and benevolent, the infiltration is much easier. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status law (Please read the article below by eminent attorney Anand Ahuja) was enacted with a humanitarian objective to provide protection to these minors who are victims of domestic abuse.

    Over the years, the law stands abused. It has become a booming business in many countries to push young boys and girls, mainly boys (77%), in to the United States territory and make them take advantage of SIJS.

    The Indian Panorama Investigative team came across quite a few people in Queens and Long Island in New York who are part of the thriving racket to smuggle in young boys and girls from India. The reports received by us indicate that it is a big business in many South Asian countries, in particular, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as also in many other countries across the world.

    We were taken for a shock to get to know how elaborate the racket’s dragnet is, which involves agents in countries from which the young people are sent, agents at the Mexican side of the US border who help them cross over in to the United States, agents in the US who manage a guardian for the boy/girl and so on so forth. All this involves huge money. In India, the price to send a young boy or a girl in to USA is anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000.

    Another shocking revelation was the involvement of church in this racket. During our talk with some who are involved in the racket told us, on condition of anonymity, that at least, one priest from a Christian Church in New York and a Sikh priest from a Sikh Gurudwara in Arizona are actively involved in running the racket. The authorities do not suspect the priests of any wrong doing and the latter take advantage of it.

    Our source told us that the Christian Priest who is based in New York and comes from Punjab, India, visits his home state in India to “recruit” the youth who want to come to USA. It was pointed out to us that the pries has been making regular trips for the job. He arranges the incoming youth’s stay and finds him a guardian. Interestingly, all the young people who come here and come to have guardians, work and stay elsewhere, not necessarily with their guardians.

    The person agreeing to be a guardian to a youth is offered a payment of between $5000.00 to $10,000. The attorney’s fees is anywhere between $3000.00 and $5000.00. We were also told about two attorneys whose services the priest utilizes regularly. Also, there are some attorneys who specialize in such cases. The gentleman who offered to be guardian to a young man confided in us that the young man had disappeared and that he had to report the disappearance to the court.

    The malaise is much deeper and goes beyond simple monetary racket. It has serious implications for America’s security. With ISIS and Al Qaeda stepping up recruitment of young people from all over the world, USA is threatened as never before because of such soft laws which allow easy infiltration in to the country. Our source, on condition of anonymity, told us that he had come to know that the enemies of USA are all set to push in young people in to USA to carry out their agenda in America, which is to harm the country in every way.

    A thorough investigation by the US administration agencies concerned in to the racket and the possible infiltration of enemies of USA in to the country, taking advantage of the benevolent soft humanitarian laws needs to be done sooner than later. And the earlier, the better.

    Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

    Throughout its history, the United States has been a refuge for oppressed people from around the world. The Pilgrims, the Quakers, the Amish, and countless others came to this country in centuries past, while in the more recent past immigrants have been Cubans, Jews, Southeast Asians, and others.What those diverse people shared was a belief that America could offer them refuge from government oppression. The United States has always been at the forefront of protection issues, and traditionally has granted sanctuary to victims of human rights abuses from around the world.

    This refuge or protecting in the USA, however, is not limited to victims of political oppression but also is available to those who are victims of domestic violence and abuse specially minors.With an objective to provide protection to these minors who are victims of domestic abuse, Congress, in 2008, enacted a new statute, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, (TVPRA 2008).

    The statute expands the definition of Special Immigrant Juvenile so that more children can qualify for the status, provides greater protections from aging out, removes additional grounds of inadmissibility to lawful permanent residence, and requires the US government to process the cases within 180 days for those undocumented youth who qualify for SIJS.

    The Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act has expanded the definition of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) to allow undocumented immigrant youth to petition for legal status based on abuse, neglect, or abandonment by one or both parents. SIJS waives unlawful entry, working without authorization, status as a public charge, and certain immigration violations. Once a minor receives SIJS, he/she will be able to adjust his/her status to that of a lawful permanent resident, obtain work authorization, and eventually apply for U.S. citizenship.

    To be eligible under SIJS, one must be (a) under 21 at the time of filing, (b) Currently must be unmarried, and (c) Must be present in the United States. Further, SIJS visa program is different from other types of visas in that it requires coordination with a state family or Surrogate court. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status has two prong tests. First, the minor has to engage in a custody/adoption proceedings in the Family or Surrogate’s Court in the county where he/she resides.

    As part of this proceeding, the court is to find minor’s eligibility for SIJS. Besides a guardianship petition, it is also possible to file a petition requesting an order though a custody, neglect, adoption, permanency hearing for children in foster care etc., proceeding. An order from a Family Court or Surrogate Court granting custody/adoption is a pre-requisite to applying for SIJS status. On February 5, 2014, the New York Appellate Division, Second Department, stated that New York State Family Courts do in fact have the authority to appoint a natural parent to be the guardian of his or her own children.

    The court explained that under the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, any person may petition for guardianship of an infant. SCPA §1703. Therefore, the court reasoned that since the statute does not impose any limitations, appointment of guardianship may also be granted to a natural parent. The court’s reasoning was based upon prior decisions involving contests for guardianship between a natural parent and a relative or nonrelative of a child, where the natural parent has been named as the guardian or co-guardian of the child.

    Matter of Revis v. Marzan (100 AD 3d 1004); Matter of Justina S. (180 AD 2d 641). One is to keep in mind that a state Family court and/or Surrogate court that grants custody/adoption petition does not make any immigration decision. After receiving this order from the Family or Surrogate’s Court, one has to go through the second stage, i.e., the one is to then apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for SIJS. Though USCIS one will get SIJS that would bestow upon the child lawful permanent residence and work authorization.

    Whether one receives one’s special immigrant juvenile visa and green card concurrently or applies for an adjustment of status after your SIJ application is approved, one generally receives most of the same rights and privileges as other lawful permanent residents. If the petition is approved and the child becomes a lawful permanent resident, he or she will have access to financial aid for college, be able to work legally, be eligible for some public benefits, and be able to apply for US citizenship five years after becoming a permanent resident.

    However; one is to keep in mind that the granting of SIJ status is based on allegations of abuse, abandonment or neglect by the applicant’s parents, a person who receives a green card or even ultimately citizenship through the SIJ program cannot petition for a green card on behalf of those parents. Moreover, SIJ program participants cannot petition on behalf of their siblings until they become U.S. citizens through naturalization. “Immigration law is extremely complicated-and with children, more so,” says Lenni Benson, a New York Law School professor and director of Safe Passage, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance to immigrant children in the state.

    Since expertise in both the family law and immigration law is required for SIJS, therefore, it’s better to retain the services of a competent attorney for these cases.

    (The author, an Attorney at Law, is licensed to practice law in the States of New York, Connecticut, Virginia, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court; Southern District of NY, U.S. District Court; Eastern District of NY. He works as an attorney with Anand Ahuja Associates, Attorneys at Law and International Business Consultants, 76 North Broadway Suite # 2000, Hicksville, NY 11801. He can be reached at anandesq@hotmail.com or on phone nos. (516) 502-3262, and (718) 850-1952. )

  • US GURDWARAS ENDORSE THE CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE PERCEPTION OF SIKHS AND PLEDGE FINANCIAL BACKING

    US GURDWARAS ENDORSE THE CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE PERCEPTION OF SIKHS AND PLEDGE FINANCIAL BACKING

    WASHINGTON (TIP):
    Gurdwaras across the country convened in Washington D.C. August 16-17for an unprecedented grassroots meeting called by the newly formed National Sikh Campaign (NSC) to shape the Sikh image in America. Over 100 Representatives from Gurdwaras from all over the United States pledged their support to the National Sikh Campaign’s plan to engage top US political operatives and media firms for presenting the community positively.

    During the strategy session, Geoff Garin of Hart Research, who served as Hillary Clinton’s former top political strategist and Isaac Baker of AKPD Message and Media, President Obama’s media firm, outlined a roadmap of how Sikhs can change perceptions in the United States and how crucial the campaign will be to the future of Sikhs. Mr. Garin, also gave the meeting’s participants an exclusive update on the National Sikh Campaign’s groundbreaking messaging research that will underpin the effort and inform the community how it can effectively communicate to the American public.

    Gurwin Ahuja, Executive Director of the National Sikh Campaign, while welcoming the Sikh leaders, said, “The Sikh community in US has never been more educated, more wealthy, and more successful than today and we’ve also never had this many Gurdwara leaders together in a room. We have never been more primed to do something big. This is perhaps the first time a thorough scientific data will be made available to the community within and without to set the next path of our campaign.”

    After hearing from the strategists, the meeting held a closed door strategy session, which lasted several hours and focused on specific action steps to make lasting change in the United States. Sikh Leaders worked together to create a realistic region by region breakdown of US Gurdwaras and fundraising strategies were also discussed and approved to reach an overall target of $5 Million USD.

    Dr. Rajwant Singh, President of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Senior Advisor to NSC, who facilitated the discussion among the Gurdwara leaders, said, “The consensus was that there is a critical need for this kind of media strategy for the Sikh community. Secondly, all possible efforts need to be made to include as many Gurdwaras as possible in the network as partners.

    Thirdly, our goal is to keep the focus on introducing Sikhism and the Sikh identity while showing the positive contribution of the community in the media.” He added, “Almost every person said that this type of campaign should have been launched long time ago and would have prevented many hardships that many members of the community have had to face since 9/11.” Dr. Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, President of the Oak Creek Gurdwara from Wisconsin, said, “As I understood the aim of the campaign is to counteract the negative image and perceptions Americans have about Sikhs and Sikhism and create a positive image of Sikhs and our faith.

    We are 100% behind this campaign. It is well conceived and planned and I am sure it will also be well executed by the team. This is about taking a proactive approach, or as in medicine we would say, a preventative approach– ‘Prevention is better than a cure’ approach. Hopefully that will prevent future tragedies for our people.” Sikh representatives came from the following states: Illinois, Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Delaware, and over 70 people joined from others states over the phone.

    In addition, 30 youth from high school and college age held their separate meeting as part of the organizing for this campaign. Gagan Kaur, an active leader at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, who attended the meeting said, “I think what stuck with me the most about this conference was watching the transformation in people’s perceptions and attitudes by the end of the conference.

    It was obvious that the organizers had done their homework as everyone left feeling excited and ready to do their part for the campaign in their respective states and organizations.” She continued, “We have waited long enough- now is the time to stop the victim mentality and become proactive in how we are perceived. I urge all Sikhs to take this campaign seriously and make sure that our voice is heard.”

    Another attendee from the Sikh Religious Society in Chicago, Jasvir Kaur Singh, said “I was honored to be a part of the strategy session. It’s long overdue that Sikh organizations and Gurdwaras work together to take a proactive approach to the challenges Sikhs face in America. This was the first time I’ve attended a Sikh event where we hoped to check our egos at the door and have a candid conversation about the lack of progress we’ve made despite our attempts and personal, professional successes.”

    Dr. Inderpal Singh, President of the Gurdwara in Atlanta, GA said: “This Campaign will provide research-based solutions to the awareness crisis facing the Sikh community in America and all over the world. We have a story to share about the Sikh values, which are American values. The National Sikh Campaign is our hope and aspiration for a better world through awareness and collaboration.”

    Swaranjit Singh Khalsa of the Sikh Sewak Society International based in Connecticut stated “The National Sikh Campaign will not only educate our fellow Americans about Sikhism but I think this will also provide a common platform to all Sikhs institutes to work together and show their unity.” Surinder Singh, treasurer of NSC, said, “Each moment in which something happens is the right moment. It is relevant to our current effort, no matter how belated. There is unity of purpose and now we have to create harmony of actions. This will be relevant to our collaborative effort and participation by the entire community.”

    Jivan Singh Achreja, the National Strategy Director who facilitated the fundraising strategy, said, ” Although the task of raising 5 million dollars seems difficult, looking at the overwhelming response we have seen since this campaign was launched in March 2014, this task seems surmountable. A large section of the community will be tapped through Gurdwaras and online sources in a creative fundraising strategy that will involve all levels of the community.”

    Dr. Manjeet Kaur of North Carolina said “I am so pleased to see that Gurdwaras and representatives from throughout the world showed that they are willing to come together and work on this project with full enthusiasm for the future. Only by working together can we achieve lasting change in this country. This cause is too vast to be done alone, only through the combined effort of the US sangat (community) can we make this a reality.” Charandeep Singh from Sikh Channel in the UK left the meeting saying, “The National Sikh Campaign has marked a historically important first step in changing the American perception of the Sikh identity.

    A clear, transparent and achievable funding structure has been developed requiring support from the global Sikh Diaspora. This endeavor is imperative for the future of the American and ultimately global Sikh community.” The meeting also heard presentations from Gurwin Singh Ahuja, the Executive Director, Dr. Rajwant Singh, Senior Adviser, Jivan Achreja, National Strategy Director, and Surinder Singh, Treasurer. The event was organized by Misha Kaur, Nuri Kaur, Sehejneet Kaur, Hana Kaur, Jagjot Kaur, Jasraj Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Maninder Singh, and Harpreet Singh.

  • US SENTENCES BRITISH MEN OVER TALIBAN SUPPORT

    US SENTENCES BRITISH MEN OVER TALIBAN SUPPORT

    NEW YORK (TIP): A US judge sentenced two British men to a combined total of 20.5 years in prison on Wednesday for conspiring to provide and for providing equipment and personnel to the Taliban.Computer engineer Babar Ahmad was sentenced to 12.5 years and Syed Talha Ahsan, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in custody, to time served at eight years.They were arrested by British police in 2004 and 2006 respectively and extradited to the United States in 2012 as part of a batch of Britons wanted on terror charges.

    British campaigners bitterly opposed their extradition on the grounds that they were held so long without charge and arguing they should be tried at home. Both sentences were lighter than demanded by prosecutors. Ahmad, 40, and Ahsan, 34, were indicted in Connecticut on charges of conspiring to support and supporting the Taliban regime in Afghanistan while they sheltered Al-Qaida, Chechens fighting the Russians and related terror groups.For years, they pleaded not guilty but in December changed their plea on two counts of the indictment — conspiring to provide and providing support to the former Taliban regime.

    US district judge Janet Hall sentenced Ahmad to 150 months’ imprisonment and Ahsan to 96 months, or time already served. The case was heard in US federal court in New Haven, Connecticut because websites they ran in London relied for a time on a Connecticut hosting company. Ahsan is now expected to be released and deported. Ahmad has already served a decade in custody and reports suggest he too could be freed in months. Their cases attracted the support of thousands in Britain and campaigners say Ahmad was the Briton held the longest without charge as part of the global “war on terror.” The son of a retired civil servant and a retired science teacher, Ahmad worked in the IT department of London’s prestigious Imperial College at the time of his arrest.

  • Indian-American Coalition endorses Rep. Jim Himes for Re-election

    Indian-American Coalition endorses Rep. Jim Himes for Re-election

    NEW YORK (TIP): Citing Rep Jim Himes’ support of the Indian American community and his dedication to the legislative issues at the Capital, a group of Indian Americans joined together to host a reception and fundraiser at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Stamford on June 26th evening.

    At a well attended program, Himes thanked the gathering and took several questions from the audience which included the new immigration reform which is under consideration, job creation in Connecticut and banking issues. Early this month, GOPIO-CT, one of the community groups in Connecticut, honored Rep. Himes as Friend of India at its annual awards banquet.

    “Congressman Himes is in two important House Committees, Financial Services and Permanent Select committee on Intelligence and we want him there,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, who co-hosted the event. “I think if he continues to do so, it will benefit our country and Connecticut” Dr. Abraham added. Viresh Sharma, who is a registered Republican from New Canaan, has said that he supports Himes for his work in Washington DC and his record for the last six years. Over a dozen people served as cohosts and supporters for the event which raised funds for Himes’s reelection bid.

  • Gale A. Brewer

    Gale A. Brewer

    Manhattan Borough President

    Dear Friends: It is my great pleasure to celebrate The Indian Panorama’s special issue that will honor America’s Independence Day. This incredible publication is an indispensable source of news that is both pertinent to America’s South Asian community and the nation as whole asdemonstrated by the paper’s communication ofSouth Asia’s crucial current events to the United States.

    The Indian Panorama is a weekly newspaper that has served the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut since its founding in 2006, but has extended its distribution to many cities across the country as well. What is truly impressive about The Indian Panorama is its ability to unifyworldwide news with the close-knit quality that so deeply characterizes South Asian culture.

    Its devotion to the South Asian community truly epitomizes the unique multicultural identity of this nation. Thus, I join you in honoring the publication of The Indian Panorama’s special Fourth of July issue, which will further demonstrate this newspaper’s dedication to the growth of America and its multicultural character. On this very special occasion, please extend my best wishes to the readers and everyone at The Indian Panorama

  • COLORADO GUN RESTRICTIONS UPHELD

    COLORADO GUN RESTRICTIONS UPHELD

    DENVER (TIP): Colorado gun laws that mandate background checks on private sales and limit ammunition magazines to 15 rounds are constitutional, federal judge Marcia Krieger ruled Thursday, June 26. The state’s Democratic-majority legislature passed the measures last year in reaction to the 2012 mass killings at a Denver-area movie theater and the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. In a backlash by voters, two Democratic senators subsequently were recalled and a third resigned.

    In her 50-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger wrote “evidence shows that large-capacity magazines are frequently used in gun violence and mass shootings, and that often a shooter will shoot continuously until a weapon jams or the shooter runs out of ammunition.” “Most experts agree that the size of a magazine correlates to the number of rounds that are fired in both an offensive and defensive capacity,” she added. But the plaintiffs – gun owners, advocates, manufacturers and sheriffs – had presented no evidence that someone’s ability “to defend him or herself is seriously diminished if magazines are limited,” Krieger declared.

    “Nothing in the Second Amendment can be read to suggest that a permissible burden on commercial sales of firearms cannot similarly be extended to apply to those acquiring firearms by loan”, Judge Marcia Kriege wrote. The plaintiffs argued that despite exemptions for temporary loans between private parties, expanded background checks would make it legally difficult for friends or neighbors to loan firearm for protection or storage. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said that like Krieger, his office “has never asserted that the laws in question are good, wise or sound policy,” but that he was obligated to defend their constitutionality.

    The Colorado State Shooting Association called the ruling “disappointing on many levels,” and said an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected. The association said Krieger’s opinion “ignores or gives short-shrift” to many of the plaintiffs’ arguments, and “seemingly misunderstands those that are addressed.” “The significance of the Second Amendment as a core portion of the Bill of Rights and its importance has virtually no reference in the decision,” the group said in a statement.

    “Most noteworthy was the court’s focus on the important government interest at hand while ignoring the complete absence of support for same in the legislative record.” Noting the lawmakers who were ousted, the organization said it is “time to throw out each and every legislator that voted for these laws, and the governor that signed them.”

  • GOPIO-CT HONORS FIVE INDIAN AMERICAN ACHIEVERS AND CONGRESSMAN JIM HIMES AS FRIEND OF INDIA

    GOPIO-CT HONORS FIVE INDIAN AMERICAN ACHIEVERS AND CONGRESSMAN JIM HIMES AS FRIEND OF INDIA

    GOPIO-CT honors 5 Indian American achievers

    Congressman Jim Himes is honored as Friend of India

    STAMFORD (TIP): The Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) honored five Indian American achievers and those who provide service to the community or the society at large. Several dignitaries attended the event including India’s Consul General in New York Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Rep Jim Himes (D, CT 4th District), Stamford Mayor David Martin, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Upendra Chivukula and Connecticut Assemblyman Dr. Prasad Srinivasan.

    The program started with a welcome by GOPIO-CT President Shelly Nichani who said the chapter initiated several new programs including a cancer walk fundraiser, participation in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Stamford, interactive session with elected officials in addition to the regular program such as sponsoring and volunteering in soup kitchens, India Independence Day flag hoisting and Diwali. Stamford Mayor David Martin extended a warm welcome to everyone and complimented GOPIO-CT for its outstanding community work.

    This year, GOPIO-CT had selected U.S. Representative from Connecticut 4th District Congressman Jim Himes as Friend of India. A member of India Caucus, Jim has been a supporter of Indian American community. Congressman Himes had traveled several times to India while he was working for Goldman Sachs. As a Congressman Himes is committed to provide all children in America, access to a first-rate public school, affordable and effective health care, a decent and safe home, and a supportive community. An undergraduate from Harvard, Jim earned a Rhodes Scholarship, and attended Oxford University in England.

    There Indian Americans are honored for their achievements in business and profession. Dr. Subbarao Bollepalli, MD FAPA, is honored for his achievement in medicine. Dr. Bollepalli is a leading psychiatrist in the State of Connecticut. He retired as a Colonel from United States Army Reserve, which was activated during the Iraqi War. He is a member of the Governing Council of Connecticut Medical Society(CSMS). He is currently the President of Connecticut Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (CAPI). His interests include philanthropy, social service, spiritual reading and playing tennis.

    A husband and wife team in business, Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, have been selected to receive entrepreneurship award. Ashok is ‘corporateur’ turned entrepreneur who has co-founded with his wife Meera, Preferred Brands International, which makes Tasty Bite, a leader in the specialty food industry. He is the CEO of Tasty Bite and serves also on the Board of several NGOs both in India and the US. He is the Adjunct Professor of International Entrepreneurship of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, India.

    Ashok attended the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Bajaj Institute Bombay and the Harvard Business School. Meera Vasudevan is a co-founder and Principal of ASG-Omni, a strategy-consulting firm that designs and develops entry strategies for large US corporations looking to do business in India. She has also worked closely on social research projects with the Indian government and UNICEF. She has a Bachelor in English with post-graduate qualifications in Marketing from the University of Madras and INSEAD, France.

    Arati Sureddi received an award for young achievers. Arati is the Founder of Lotus Alliance, a social enterprise addressing human trafficking and forced labor through the responsible tourism industry. She has also helped in launching the Not My Life Awareness Initiative, whose goal is to increase awareness of human trafficking among individuals who are in a position to influence policy and advocate for change. She is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Management.

    Prasad Chirnomula, an avid restaurateur, received a special award for promoting India cuisine to American society by helping community groups through media. Chirnomula creates delectable and imaginative food in each of his four Thali restaurants and Mexican in his latest venture – Oaxaca Kitchen. In addition to running his five restaurants, Chef Prasad leads tasting tours of India, hosts private tasting dinners, teaches cooking classes and offers his services at multiple charity events for such groups as the American Liver Foundation, Varli, James Beard House, the American Red Cross, Share Our Strength, the Connecticut Food Bank and the Food Bank for New York City.

    He has studied at the Food Craft Institute of Poona, including culinary arts and hotel management. Connecticut Senator Blumenthal in a message complimented GOPIO-CT for its outstanding community service and advocacy work and presented certificate of appreciation to all award recipients. The program ended with an entertainment by Bollywood dancers and a dinner.

  • Rupal Shah-Palanki becomes the first Indian American judge to be confirmed in Connecticut

    Rupal Shah-Palanki becomes the first Indian American judge to be confirmed in Connecticut

    NEW YORK: Connecticut Judge Rupal Shah-Palanki was confirmed to the Tolland District Superior Court recently, making her the first-ever Indian-origin Judge in the state of Connecticut to hold a Superior Court seat. Shah-Palanki was initially appointed by Governor Daniel Malloy on March 14, alongside 15 other Superior Court nominees, and her confirmation came just about a month and a half later.

    In a statement released at the time of her appointment, Shah-Palanki expressed her gratitude to Governor Malloy for selecting her for such a prestigious position. “I am deeply honored and humbled that Governor Malloy has nominated me to serve as a Superior Court Judge,” Shah-Palanki said. “I want to thank Governor Malloy for his belief in my abilities and character and his commitment to diversity in the judiciary.” “I also thank my family and friends for their constant support and the numerous mentors and colleagues I have been privileged to learn from and work with throughout my career.”

    she also said. “If I am confirmed, I promise to carry out this great responsibility with compassion, diligence, respect and fairness.” Shah-Palanki attended Massachusetts College of the Holy Cross for her undergraduate studies, graduating in 1995 with a B.A. in Political Science. She then attended the Georgetown University Law Center from 1996-1999 for her J.D., and was also involved with two prestigious organizations: the Policy International Law Society and the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law.

    In taking up her new job, Shah-Palanki will be leaving her most recent position as an Assistant Attorney General with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, where she had been employed since 2003. Before that, she was an associate with two law firms: Bingham McCutcheon, located in Washington, DC; and Cohn, Birnbaum and Shea, in Hartford, Connecticut. Additionally, Shah-Palanki is an official with the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission.

  • NYC Comptroller urges raising minimum wage to $13.13 per hour

    NYC Comptroller urges raising minimum wage to $13.13 per hour

    OVER ONE MILLION NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS WOULD SEE WAGES RISE BY $100 A WEEK

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Raising the minimum wage to $13.13 in New York City would benefit nearly 1.2 million City residents by an average of $100 a week, according to an analysis released June 16, by Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “New York City deserves the ability to set its own minimum wage,” Comptroller Stringer said. “We are falling behind other states and cities when it comes to the minimum wage, despite the fact that this is the most expensive city in which to live in the nation.

    There is no one size fits all when it comes to the minimum wage; raising it to $13.13 would make an enormous difference for more than one million New York City residents.” Currently, New York State’s minimum wage is $8.00/hour, and is set to rise to $8.75/hour in 2015 and $9.00/hour in 2016. These small increases are not sufficient to make a substantial impact on the lives of lowwage workers.

    Comptroller Stringer supports a State bill co-sponsored by Assemblymember Carl Heastie/Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senator Adriano Espaillat/Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (A8343A/S6518A) which would raise the minimum wage in New York State to $10.10/hour by December 31, 2015 and allow cities and counties to establish local minimum wages of up to 30% above the state minimum, or $13.13. This local flexibility is particularly important for New York City, where the cost of living is 80% higher than in Buffalo, 70% higher than in Rochester, and 60% higher than in Albany. Not only is New York City’s cost of living the highest in the State, it is also the highest in the country.

    Because of this, low-wage workers rely on public programs to subsidize their incomes. The Comptroller’s estimate shows the greatest number of beneficiaries of a raised minimum wage would be in Brooklyn, with 376,000 people seeing a raise in their wages, followed by 348,000 in Queens, 220,000 in the Bronx, 194,000 in Manhattan and 31,000 on Staten Island. When adjusted for cost-of-living, the City’s current minimum wage is the lowest of any major city in the nation.

    Many cities across the country have recently increased their municipal minimum wages, helping millions of working families in the process. San Francisco’s is $10.74; San Jose’s is $10.15; Santa Fe’s is $10.51; and Washington D.C.’s is set to rise to $11.50 by 2016. And just this month, Seattle enacted the nation’s highest minimum wage of $15.00/hour. Many states have also hiked their minimum wages in recent months.

    In March, Connecticut enacted an increase up to $10.10/hour and in May, Maryland followed suit. In addition, Vermont enacted a $10.50/hour wage and the Massachusetts Senate voted to raise the Commonwealth’s minimum wage to $11 by 2017. “New York City should be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to raising the minimum wage. The time has come for the Big Apple to pay its workers a wage that works for employees and employers,” Stringer said.

  • Gunman kills one, injures three on Seattle campus

    Gunman kills one, injures three on Seattle campus

    LOS ANGELES (TIP): A lone gunman killed one person and injured three others on June 5 on a college campus in the northwestern US city of Seattle, where the mayor denounced America’s “epidemic of gun violence”. The latest bloody rampage to shake the United States came just two weeks after an apparently mentally disturbed man opened fire at a California university and killed six people. Those wounded at Seattle Pacific University, including at least one who was critically hurt, were being treated in hospital.

    The dead victim was a 20- year-old man, according to police. The Seattle police department described how the gunman opened fire in a lobby of a science building on the campus. “Police have one suspect in custody, an adult male who was subdued after being pepper-sprayed by a student security guard,” the police statement added. Initial reports suggested there were two gunmen, but police said that proved false. Mayor Ed Murray expressed outrage that his city had fallen victim once more to the gun violence plaguing the United States.

    “Today should have been a day of celebration at the end of the school year. Instead it’s a day of tragedy and of loss,” he told reporters. “Once again, the epidemic of gun violence has come to Seattle, the epidemic of gun violence that’s haunting this nation.” Witnesses described their fear as the shooting unfolded, and the bloody aftermath. One student recounted hearing a loud bang from next to the classroom he was in. His teacher initially thought it was a science experiment, but someone went out and came back saying: “I think someone’s been shot.” “So we turn off the lights we lock the door and we close the blinds,” the student, identified as Blake, told KIRO 7 TV.

    “I was scared for about a minute,” he added, recalling hearing shouting and someone running past the door. After a couple of minutes, “cops come in through another classroom which was connected to ours and they escorted us out. “I just saw piles of blood on the ground, just scattered throughout the lobby. And I actually stepped in a puddle…. “I saw someone was on the ground. Someone was on top of them, their hands behind their head.” Police spokesman Chris Fowler described how the young male gunman was taken into custody after opening fire in the lobby of a building on the campus.

    He began to reload when a student who was monitoring the building “confronted the shooter (and) was able to subdue the individual,” Fowler told reporters, without directly confirming the death. “Once on the ground, other students jumped on top of them and they were able to pin the shooter to the ground until police arrived.” Less than two weeks ago, a reportedly mentally unstable 22-year-old man killed six people before turning the gun on himself at a college campus in Santa Barbara, California.

    School shootings have become a tragic periodic occurrence in the United States in recent years. They include the December 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that left 20 small children dead, and the Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007 in which 33 died, including the gunman.

  • South Asian Community meets with Police Chiefs of Stamford, Norwalk and Darien on Burglaries in the Community

    South Asian Community meets with Police Chiefs of Stamford, Norwalk and Darien on Burglaries in the Community

    STAMFORD, CT (TIP): The Police Chiefs of Stamford, Norwalk and Darien, May 1, met with the South Asian Community in the lower Fairfield County to address community’s concerns of increased burglaries along with other issues of security and safety.

    It was organized by the Stamford Cricket Club, the Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) and Shaheen Cricket Club at Belltown Fire Station in Stamford on May 1st. Stamford Police Chief Jonathan Fontneau, Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik and Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello along their detectives addressed many of the concerns pertaining to the South Asian community.

  • After shooting, California mulls new gun law

    After shooting, California mulls new gun law

    LOS ANGELES (TIP): Just days after a 22-year-old killed six college students and himself near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, state lawmakers are championing legislation that would permit law enforcement officials and private individuals to seek a restraining order from a judge that would keep people with a potential propensity for violence from buying or owning a gun. The process would be similar to the one currently used for restraining orders in cases of domestic violence.

    The legislation is being introduced this week in response to the attack on Friday by Elliot O Rodger, who was able to buy three guns and go on a rampage despite warnings from his family and mental health professionals that he was unstable and possibly dangerous. Although mass shootings have not translated into stricter gun control laws nationally, they have prompted changes on the state level — largely limiting access to guns, but in some cases loosening existing laws.

    But California, which already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, could go even further. The legislation, known as a gun violence restraining order, would allow people to notify courts or law enforcement officials if they are concerned that a family member or friend is at risk of committing violence. Gun control advocates have recently started pushing for such restraining orders in statehouses, expanding on similar laws passed in Connecticut, Indiana and Texas. The bill is expected to face opposition from National Rifle Association.

  • Connecticut woman makes bomb threats to hide dropout status from family

    Connecticut woman makes bomb threats to hide dropout status from family

    MILFORD (TIP): A woman who dropped out of Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University was arrested May 20 night after admitting to calling in two bomb threats in an effort to keep her family from learning she had dropped out of school, police said. Danielle Shea, 22, of Quincy, Massachusetts, made the threats after arriving at the ceremony in a cap and gown with her mother, who didn’t know she had dropped out, and told police she “panicked” when relatives noticed her name was not on the list of graduates.

    Police said Shea called in two bomb threats to the library so the graduation ceremony would be canceled. Instead the Sunday evening ceremony was delayed 90 minutes and moved a mile (1.6 km) to a different campus of the university. Local police responded to the Quinnipiac University library as an estimated 5,000 people, including the 388 graduates, evacuated the area and quickly moved to the indoor location, according to John Morgan, university spokesman. “We cannot speculate what she was thinking,” said Morgan.

    “But we had to act quickly in the interest of safety.” Police in the town of Hamden, where the school is located, said a female caller contacted school security twice on Sunday, first saying, “Bomb in the library,” and calling back 20 minutes later to say, “Several bombs are on campus. You haven’t cleared out graduation. That’s not a good idea.” Police said they tracked the caller down by tracing the phone number she called from.

    Shea was charged with threatening in the first degree and falsely reporting an incident. She was detained at police headquarters on a $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Meriden on May 30. Shea could not be reached for immediate comment.