Opinion ID: 2978527
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Singh’s Account

Text: The following is Singh’s account of the relevant events as given during his testimony at the hearing before the Immigration Judge (IJ).1 1 Singh speaks Punjabi. He testified at the hearing using a translator. Singh was born in Sekhwan village in Punjab, India, in 1965. Like his parents, he is a member of the Sikh religion. Both Sikhs and Hindus – the majority religion in India – live in the Punjab region. Singh explained that the Sikhs are different from the Hindus in that they wear turbans and keep their beards long. Singh’s father was involved in the Akali Dal political party and supported a leader of the party at the time, who was from the Sekhwan village. After that leader died, his son, Sewa Singh, became a leader in the party. When Sewa Singh came to power, Singh joined him and started working with him. Singh began working with Sewa Singh when Singh was between the ages of 20 and 25. Singh testified he first joined the Akali Dal party after the elections in 2002, and held a position on the “block committee” of Sekhwan village. Singh’s job as a taxi driver allowed him to assist Sewa Singh with the use of his vehicle on election day. Singh went house to house to tell people to vote and also transported those who lived far away to the polling places. Singh first had problems with the Congress Party – and more specifically, a leader of the Congress Party, Partab Singh – in June 2002. In 2002, the Congress party won “the election.” According to Singh, fifteen days before the election, Partab Singh sent a messenger to tell Singh that he wanted Singh to leave the Akali Dal party and Sewa Singh. Singh refused. On June 6, 2002, police came to Singh’s house, arrested him, took him to the police station and beat him. Singh stated that he was beaten with bamboo sticks, that large steel rollers were used on his legs, and that his collar bone was broken. The police told him he should give a statement that Sewa Singh had corruptly taken money from a local hospital, but he refused. Partab Singh was behind this event. Singh was released one week later, on June 13, 2002, after his family paid a bribe to the police to secure his release. According to Singh, upon his release, police warned him not to -2- tell about the abuse or Partab Singh would create more problems for him. Singh stated that he still has medical problems related to the event. Singh told Sewa Singh about what had happened to him, but Sewa Singh did not want to confront Partab Singh because Partab Singh was too powerful at the time. According to Singh, he was arrested again on January 15, 2003, at an Akali Dal meeting in his farmhouse, and was taken to the police station where he was placed on the floor, tied at the hands and legs, and had steel rollers used on his body. According to Singh, while police beat him, they asked him to say something against Sewa Singh, in particular that Sewa Singh was taking the people’s money and purchasing cars. According to Singh, Partab Singh was behind the police’s actions. Singh was released on January 23rd (eight days later), after bribe money was again paid for his release. The third significant event occurred on April 17, 2003. Two persons hired Singh’s taxi to go to Amritsar. As he approached a police checkpost, the individuals instructed him not to stop. One put a gun to his neck. Fearful, Singh did not stop at the checkpoint and kept driving until the individuals instructed him to stop at the railroad crossing. He did and they ran into the dark. The police had chased Singh and searched his car. They found a leather bag the men had left on the back seat that contained an opium-related substance. Singh was taken to the police station and again asked to make a statement against Sewa Singh. According to Singh, he was held for five days and beaten badly. Again, a bribe was paid in order to secure his release, and police told him not to tell anyone. This time they told Singh to leave Punjab or risk being killed. After he was released, Singh went to stay at a Sikh temple (a “Gurdwara”) in Delhi. After leaving and coming back, he was told that police had been there looking for him. Out of fear for his safety, Singh sought the assistance of an individual who could arrange for him to leave the country. -3- He went on a multi-country journey and eventually entered the United States through Mexico on May 30, 2003.