Indian descent man sentenced for sexually abusing boy on plane
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 Jan, 2022 12:23 PM
New York, Jan 31 (IANS) A man of Indian descent has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, who took pictures of the assault on a plane, according to the Justice Department and media reports.
Judge Nancy E. Brasel handed down the sentence to Neeraj Chopra, 41, in a federal court in Minneapolis, acting prosecutor Charles J. Kovats said on Friday.
He was found guilty in July of the incident in April 2019 but sentenced only this month.
According to prosecutors, Chopra had used a blanket to cover his lap and and the right leg of the teen and "began inappropriately touching the victim" while on the flight from Boston to Minneapolis.
"Chopra ignored the victim's multiple requests to stop and continued to inappropriately touch the victim," prosecutors said.
The legal media outlet, Law & Crime, citing court papers reported that the victim was a boy who had asked Chopra to stop the abuse and when it continued took pictures of the assault, which were produced in court as evidence.
The victim's older brother, who was seated in a row in front of him, reported seeing his brother cry and alerted their father who switched seats with the victim, the publication said.
Chopra was met by law enforcement when the plane reached Minneapolis.
The publication reported that Chopra had "admitted to touching the boy inappropriately, but said it was because he was asleep and having a bad dream 'about a family member being killed'".
An Indian-origin investment adviser has been charged by US federal authorities for orchestrating a fraudulent million dollar investment scheme over several years.
Chawla, under instructions from the Pakistani authorities, recently stopped Indian officials from entering Gurdwara Panja Sahib on April 14 (Baisakhi day).
Former President Pervez Musharraf secretly handed over as many as 4,000 Pakistanis to foreign countries, mainly to the US, in exchange for money, the commission on missing persons has said.
Police And Medics Responded On Monday To A Verbal And Physical Fight Involving Nearly 150 People At The Gurdwara Sikh Temple In The City Just South Of Indianapolis.
Aziz Manjra who settled in South Africa 25 years ago, was found dead along with his South African wife Gori Bibi and their three children - Zubina, Mairoonisa and Muhammad Rizwan.
