The US government revokes the citizenship of Indian-origin man Gurmeet Singh after a federal court strips his naturalisation. The Justice Department says Singh concealed rape and kidnapping during his US naturalisation process in 2011. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in New York.
The Justice Department announces the citizenship revocation following a court judgment issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Attorney General Todd Blanche and other Justice Department officials say Singh’s citizenship was obtained through deceit and that it is not a shield for criminals. Both outlets describe Singh’s immigration background, including his arrival in the US in February 1992 as a visitor and his later move to lawful permanent resident status.
Accounts also detail the underlying criminal case: in May 2011, Singh is reported to have assaulted a female passenger in a taxi, including threatening her with a knife, restraining and blindfolding her, and raping her. After the victim escaped, Singh’s concealed conduct is cited as the basis for denaturalisation, culminating in the August 26 order revoking his citizenship.
Key points on the differing angles are limited across the sources, with both focusing on the court’s denaturalisation judgment and the claim that Singh hid the crimes during naturalisation, rather than on any dispute about the facts.