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'".
A Hong Kong court has extradited fugitive Ramanjit Singh, alias Romi, the key conspirator in Punjab's Nabha jail break as well as several other major crimes, officials said on Wednesday.
An Indian man working for the US in Afghanistan has been brought to Washington to be tried on charges that he allegedly sexually assaulted an American woman there, according to Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.
In honour of fallen Indian-American Sikh police officer Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, the Houston Police Department has changed its dress code policy to allow the minority community members to represent their faith while on duty.
In the first conviction of a labour trafficking case in Singapore, an Indian couple was convicted of abusing their power to exploit employees by various means including verbal abuse, financial penalties and controlling their movements, a media report said on Saturday.
It was a message that drew everyone's attention. A young girl trekking the long route to the famed Sabarimala temple sported a placard around her neck reading: "Am 9 years now, next visit to the temple is after I finish 50 years, Lord Ayyappa".
