The United States on Monday revoked the citizenship of Gurmeet Singh, an India-born taxi driver who was sentenced to twenty years in jail for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl at knifepoint in 2011, the justice department stated in a launch.
The US district courtroom for the jap district of New York issued an order cancelling the naturalisation of convicted rapist Gurmeet Singh.
Notably, citizenship will be revoked by way of denaturalisation solely after a federal courtroom points a ruling. The method is complicated and is usually used when an individual has misled authorities to safe citizenship or has dedicated critical crimes.
Who’s Gurmeet Singh?
Singh entered the US in February 1992 on a short lived go to that was alleged to final not more than six months. He stayed within the nation with out authorisation for a number of years earlier than a family-based immigrant visa petition allowed him to turn into a everlasting resident in June 2000.
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In Might 2011, simply weeks earlier than submitting his software for US citizenship, Singh was working as a taxi driver when he took a feminine passenger, who had fallen asleep on her manner dwelling, to a spot the place there have been no witnesses.
When the girl wakened, she discovered Singh on high of her with a knife held to her throat. He threatened her, tied her up, gagged and blindfolded her, took off her garments and raped her, in keeping with the discharge.
The survivor later managed to get out of the taxi and, at daybreak, ran to somebody on the road to hunt assist.
Singh saved the crimes hidden throughout the naturalisation course of and have become a US citizen on October 19, 2011, it stated.
After acquiring citizenship, Singh was convicted in New York of rape within the first diploma and kidnapping within the second diploma as a sexually motivated felony. He was sentenced to twenty years in jail.
‘American citizenship not a defend for criminals’: US legal professional normal
US legal professional normal Todd Blanche stated in an announcement that Singh was convicted of rape and was born in India, including that he not holds US citizenship.
“American citizenship isn’t a defend for criminals…He hid a rape and kidnapping throughout the naturalization course of, and a federal courtroom has now revoked his citizenship,” he stated.
Assistant legal professional normal Brett Shumate of the justice division’s civil division stated Singh had wrongfully secured the advantages of US citizenship by hiding critical felony acts.
The order revoking Singh’s naturalisation got here after the justice division had earlier filed a criticism.
