Teen held in NY for attacks on Sikhs
A 19-year-old youth has been arrested in New York City and faces hate crime charges for his alleged involvement in attacks on three Sikh men in Queens, including the brutal assault of an elderly Sikh tourist early this month, that was condemned as “deeply disturbing” by the Consulate General of India. Vernon Douglas of Brownsville was arrested in Brooklyn and charged with multiple counts of robbery, assault, aggravated harassment and hate crimes, the Queens Chronicle reported. Another suspect was arrested earlier for attacking two Sikh men, removing their religious headwear, robbing them and striking them with closed fists and a wooden stick. Community-based civil and human rights organisation The Sikh Coalition video footage shared on social media showed the two individuals being attended to by locals and police personnel.
Biden greets Jains on Mahavir Jayanti
US President Joe Biden on April 15 extended wishes to the Jain community across the world on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti and encouraged people to follow Lord Mahavir’s path of non-violence, truthfulness, and compassion. Taking to Twitter, Biden sends his regards writing “Jill and I send warm greetings on Mahavir Jayanti to people of the Jain faith. This is a day to strive for peace, happiness, and the success of all. May we each pursue the values Mahavir Swami embodied: to seek truth, turn from violence, and live in harmony with each other.” Mahavir Jayanti is an important religious festival in Jainism that celebrates the birth of Lord Mahavir. The festival is marked with prayers and fasting. The occasion marks the birth of the 24th and last Tirthankara, Lord Mahavir. This year, Mahavir Jayanti was celebrated on April 14.
Indian student shot dead in Toronto
A 21-year-old Indian student was shot dead at the entrance of a subway station in Toronto. Kartik Vasudev was shot several times on April 8 at the entrance to the Sherbourne subway station, which is not far from the Indian Consulate in Toronto. According to Toronto Police, its officers responded to a radio call at Sherbourne TTC Subway station for a shooting. The victim, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, was initially attended to by an off-duty paramedic. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Police are looking for a black male who was seen walking with a handgun from the crime scene. The motive of the attack is not known. Vasudev, who is from Ghaziabad in India, was a student of marketing management program at Seneca College, had arrived in Canada in January. Expressing shock at the killing, the Indian Consulate tweeted: “We are shocked and distressed at the unfortunate killing of Indian student.We are in touch with the family and will provide all possible assistance in early repatriation of mortal remains.”
6 sentenced to death in Pak for lynching
A court in Pakistan has sentenced six people to death after convicting them for their roles in last year’s vigilante killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager accused by workers of committing blasphemy. The six men sentenced to death were convicted of murder of Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana in a case that outraged many Pakistanis. The Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore, set up inside a high-security prison, also gave life sentences to nine people, five years’ jail to one, and two-year sentences to 72, according to a statement from the public prosecutor. Eight of those sentenced were juveniles. Diyawadana was killed in December by workers at a sports equipment factory in Pakistan’s eastern Sialkot district where he was a manager.
