NRI ( Page 72 of 82 )

Witness testified against NRI to escape charges February 29, 2012 13:14

Indian American Dharun Ravi urged other students to spy on his roommate's gay date, a New Jersey court was told as defence suggested a key witness agreed to testify to have criminal charges against her…

Birt-Indian Killed ex-Boyfriend February 27, 2012 13:10

An Indian origin medical student in Britain has been found guilty of playing a role in a plot to kill her ex-boyfriend for revenge after he tried to rape her. Twenty-year-old Mundill Mahil lured her boyfriend Gagandip Singh to her house, where he was beaten unconscious, then bundled into the boot of a car and burned alive. Mahil decided to ‘play God’ when she recruited two men to carry out the fatal attack on Singh, who she claimed had tried to rape her six months earlier, The Daily Mail reports. According to the report, Singh, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who founded a global television station dedicated to the Sikh community, was kicked, punched and struck with a camera tripod, then put into the boot of his car. The vehicle was then driven to a quiet London side street and set alight. The post-mortem examination revealed Singh was still alive when the fire began. Mahil was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm for her role in the attack, and was warned by the judge it is ‘virtually inevitable’ that she will be given a long jail sentence. Her two conspirators were also convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively. In a trial at the Old Bailey lasting more than two months, jurors were told it was a revenge killing in retaliation for an attempted rape of Mahil the year before. An Indian origin medical student in Britain has been found guilty of playing a role in a plot to kill her ex-boyfriend for revenge after he tried to rape her. Twenty-year-old Mundill Mahil lured her boyfriend Gagandip Singh to her house, where he was beaten unconscious, then bundled into the boot of a car and burned alive. Mahil decided to ‘play God’ when she recruited two men to carry out the fatal attack on Singh, who she claimed had tried to rape her six months earlier, The Daily Mail reports. According to the report, Singh, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who founded a global television station dedicated to the Sikh community, was kicked, punched and struck with a camera tripod, then put into the boot of his car. The vehicle was then driven to a quiet London side street and set alight. The post-mortem examination revealed Singh was still alive when the fire began. Mahil was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm for her role in the attack, and was warned by the judge it is ‘virtually inevitable’ that she will be given a long jail sentence. Her two conspirators were also convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively. In a trial at the Old Bailey lasting more than two months, jurors were told it was a revenge killing in retaliation for an attempted rape of Mahil the year before.

Trial of Indian student in roommate's suicide begins February 27, 2012 12:45

As a former Indian American student went on trial for spying on his roommate, who later committed suicide, with another man, prosecutors called it a hate crime and the defence a stupid teenage prank. In opening arguments on Friday at Dharun Ravi's trial, a Superior Court jury in New Brunswick, New Jersey heard two versions of a case that gay-rights advocates say underscores the problems of harassment and bullying faced by homosexual teenagers. Ravi's roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge days after learning that Ravi had used a laptop webcam to secretly view him in a sexual encounter with another man. "This isn't about Dharun Ravi having to like Tyler Clementi's (sexual) orientation," Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure told the jury. "It's about having the decency to respect it."McClure called Ravi's actions "malicious and criminal," and argued that he set out to harass and intimidate Clementi because he was gay. But Steven Altman, Ravi's lawyer, asked jurors to withhold judgment until they heard all of the facts, contending that the prosecution had put a "spin" on the case that was not supported by the evidence. Ravi, who will turn 20 on Tuesday, is not a bigot and is not homophobic, Altman said. At the time of the incidents described in the criminal case, he said, his client was "an 18-year-old boy" beginning his first year in college. "Don't rush to judgment. Keep things in perspective," Altman said during a 25-minute opening in which he used the word "boy more than a dozen times to describe his client. Ravi "might have been stupid," Altman said, "but he certainly wasn't a criminal. "Ravi, who dropped out of Rutgers, the New Jersey State University, after being arrested in October 2010, has been charged in a 15-count criminal indictment. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bias intimidation, a so-called hate-crime offence.

Obama's campaign reaches out to Indian Americans February 27, 2012 12:32

President Barack Obama, whose administration has by far the largest number of Indian-Americans, has turned to three prominent members of this growing and influential community to help his re-election campaign reach out to some three…

US judge orders Indian diplomat to pay $ 1.5 Million to former maid servant February 24, 2012 09:13

Manhattan federal Magistrate Judge Frank Maas has directed an Indian lady diplomat to pay a compensation of $ 1.5 million to her former domestic maid servant in the US for inflicting barbaric treatment on her, according to a report published in the New York Post. The judgment is in response to a petition filed by one Shanti Gurung who served as maid servant to the diplomat Neena Malhotra and her husband Jogesh Malhotra in their Manhattan post apartment. The daily said, quoting the judgment, that the couple had seized her passport and visa papers and forced her to work without pay for longer hours. They used to extract work from her by constantly warning her that if she travelled on her own without their permission, she would be arrested, beaten, raped and sent back to India as cargo. Gurung alleged in her suit that in bringing her over to the US in 2006 on a A-3 visa, the diplomat forced her to tell the US embassy in New Delhi that she would be paid $7 per hour. The former maid servant also said in her complaint that she was forced to lie about her age covering her minority at the US Embassy in Delhi. The judgment should be ratified by senior judge Victor Marrero, who is overseeing the case, the Post said. The judgment said the first ruling was given in the case so that the papers can be served to the couple who are presently based in Delhi. “The ruling was passed after repeated attempts to reach them failed through all channels,” said the judge in his order. (JUBS)

TANA announces Short film contest February 23, 2012 08:23

TANA (Telugu Association of North America) is conducting a Short Film contest to promote and perpetuate Telugu, our mother tongue. It was announced by TANA president Prasad Thotakura and 19th TANA Convention Coordinator Murali Vennam in a press release on Tuesday. The contest is being held on the eve of International Mother Language Day, they said. It is very important for all of us to remind ourselves how to save our great language from the current waning stage. International Mother Language Day is annually celebrated on February 21st around the world. The main objective of this observance is to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Telugu People across the globe can participate in this competition. TANA solicit films made up to a maximum of five minutes focusing on the current status of usage of Telugu Language and its future. The content of the film should be message /solution oriented. The concept is ‘Mana Telugu bhashanu brathikinchu kundam’ said Prasad Thotakura. Participants can contest by emailing their videos as YouTube film links. There is no entry-fee. A panel of judges chaired by renowned movie director Sekhar Kammula will judge the best entrees. Best selected films will be screened at the upcoming 19th TANA Convention to be held at Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas from July 4th ‘ 6th, 2013 and also winners will be awarded on the main stage. More information on rules and regulations will be announced soon. Please visit www.tana.org periodically or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. // if you have any questions.

India heads US party's state finance panel February 23, 2012 05:55

Akshay Desai, who studied medicine in India, has been made the chief of the Republican Party of Florida's finance committee. "...I am grateful that Desai has agreed to accept this crucial role," said RPOF's chairperson Lenny Curry. "In this election year, we need the resources for victory, and Desai's long history of work for the state and our party make him a proven leader. A.K. and I are ready to roll up our sleeves and win," a statement quoted Curry as saying. Desai has been a member of the Florida State Board of Education since 2007. He received his medical degree in India, and earned his Master's in Public Health Administrative Medicine from the George Washington University. Desai is currently president and CEO of Universal Health Care Group, which he founded in 2002, and serves the health care community through several associations. He previously served as commissioner and chairman of the Health Committee on the White House Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders 2005-08.

Indian-origin British hotelier sued by parents February 23, 2012 05:15

Parents of a 60-year-old Indian-origin hotelier, reportedly one of Britain's wealthiest men, are sueing him for 100 million pounds (around $157 million), claiming their son took the family business for himself. Jasminder Singh, chairman of the Radisson Edwardian Hotels, is accused of renouncing the Sikh tradition of sharing family wealth and barring his parents from their multi-million pound business, the Daily Express reported. His 84-year-old father, Bal Mohinder Singh, stands to take a third of the family fortune if he wins the high court battle against his son. The family fortune is reportedly worth an estimated 415 million pounds. In a statement to the court in London Tuesday, Bal Mohinder Singh said he and his wife Satwant were "deeply ashamed that Jasminder should publicly renounce his cultural heritage". The system of joint family ownership of all assets is based on religious teaching and widely practiced by Sikh and Hindu communities around the world, he said. "For Jasminder to deny that and claim all the credit and ownership for himself will be shocking to wide sections of those communities. That is why his mother and I are so ashamed." The hotelier's name was on the family's assets purely because he was a chartered accountant and the Singhs' representative, the court heard. Singh also accused his son of trying to force his parents out of the 10-million-pound house they share near Ascot racecourse in Berkshire. Jasminder Singh denies ever having been told by his parents they were a "joint Hindu family" and that property acquired by any of them was "joint family property". He also denied having a particularly religious upbringing.

Intellectual forum on Separate State of Telangana held in Dallas February 23, 2012 04:47

An innovative session on Telnagana was held in Dallas, TX on 02/19/2012. Intellectuals from all walks of life such as IT professionals, business people, Doctors, professors organized a meet and greet session with Shri. CH.Vidyasagar…

NRI accountant's fraud cost Oz firm $30 million dollar loss February 17, 2012 05:19

A senior accountant from Indian origin, Rajina Subramaniam, has caused multinational insurance and finance company ING a net loss of 30 million dollars, court documents have revealed Subramaniam was sentenced to at least seven years'…

Telugu student killed in road accident in US February 17, 2012 04:19

A Telugu student doing his MS in the USA was killed in a road accident in the Texas state on Wednesday. According to information received by phone by Mr Puli Venkateswar of Kagajnagar in Warangal district this morning, his son Puli Rajesh was killed in the accident. “My son came here two years back for the marriage of his sister but now we are getting back his dead body,” a saddened Venkateswar told journalists at Kagajnagar. Rajesh mother was sick and the death news was not passed on to her as she may develop further health troubles after hearing about the incident. “He always stood first in the class from the very beginning and he insisted he must go to the US for studying,” said Venkateswar, a railway employee, with tears rolling down his eyes. (JUBS)

Weddings excite new director Maneesh Sharma February 15, 2012 08:03

His debut film became an instant hit, earning him accolades. Still fresh on his success, he has just released his second film 'Ladies vs Ricky Behl' with the latest star couple in Bollywood. Director Maneesh…