Trio pleads not guilty in Indian dairy worker's murder in NZ
Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Dec, 2022 12:53 PM
Wellington, Dec 14 (IANS) Three men charged in connection with the fatal stabbing of an Indian dairy worker in New Zealand have pleaded not guilty to the crime, and will go to trial in 2024, media reports said.
Janak Patel, 34, was stabbed multiple times last month at the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham, Auckland, where he worked. He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, leading police to launch a 48-hour manhunt resulting in the arrest of three men who were charged with murder and aggravated robbery.
Appearing together for the first time in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday, the three entered not guilty pleas through their lawyers, stuff.co.nz reported.
Justice Sally Fitzgerald set a trial date down for five weeks in May 2024.
Of the three, a 34-year-old man has been charged with Patel's murder, as well as aggravated robbery.
His lawyer sought interim name suppression, according to the report.
The other two -- Henry Fred and Shane Henry Tane -- have been accused of robbery.
Nationwide protests were held across New Zealand after Patel's killing with people turning up in huge numbers shouting 'enough is enough' in front of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's electoral office in Auckland's Mt Albert, IANS had reported.
Most of the dairy owners and workers said they fear going to work after Patel's brutal killing.
Following Patel's death, New Zealand announced new measures to counter retail crime, which included providing a NZ$4,000 subsidy to shop owners to install fog cannons in their shops to stop burglaries.
Mystery deepened in the case of a kidnapped Indian-origin family in California as officials reported that a person was taken into custody in connection with the case after he attempted suicide and the truck belonging to one of the victims was found burning. But still missing is the kidnapped family - eight-month-old baby Aroohi Dheri, her parents, Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39.
The R37.7 million (Rs 17.2 crore) fraud case against two Indian-origin associates of the Gupta brothers has been postponed. The Estina dairy farm project was reportedly supposed to empower black farmers. But bank statements showed that it was being used to swindle cash, with high-profile government officials. The money was paid into the company's Bank of Baroda account in India.
The lawsuit has been filed against Colorado-based Global Medical Response (GMR), and companies under it, American Medical Response (AMR) and its subsidiaries, for turning away a qualified paramedic in midst of a global pandemic. In November 2020, AMR dismissed Singh after he requested and was denied personal protective equipment (PPE) that would accommodate his turban and beard.
Merced County Sheriff's Office on Monday, said in a statement that 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh, 27-year-old Jasleen Kaur, their eight-month-old child and relative 39-year-old Amandeep Singh were taken "against their will from a business." They have asked for public's help in locating the four missing persons.
In Dongara, some 351 km northwest of Perth, more than a century-old leather-bound book containing entries written in Gurmukhi - the official script of the Punjabi language - has been found.
The winners include Karina Samuel, 17, from Florida; Karun Kaushik, 17, from California; Laalitya Acharya, 18, from Ohio; and Sri Nihal Tammana, 13, from New Jersey. Established in 2001 by author T.A.Barron, the Barron Prize is a non-profit organisation annually honouring 25 outstanding young leaders from ages 8 to 18.
