6 killed, several hurt in U.S. gurudwara shooting

Wisconsin - At least six persons have been killed and several injured, some critically by one or more gunmen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a gurudwara, in what appeared to be a hate crime in Oak Creek, a quiet suburb of Milwaukee. (reports said that an "active shooter” killed at scene and 6 others have been killed at the gurudwara).

After news of the shooting broke around mid-day local time, media reports quoted Lee Biblo, Chief Medical Officer at nearby Froedtert Hospital, saying that three male adults had been brought into the operating room in critical condition, with gunshot wounds to abdomen and the face.

Meanwhile aerial television footage showed at least one body lying near a parking lot outside the gurudwara. A CNN report quoted Gurcharan Grewal, president of the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, saying that multiple sources had confirmed that “there were wounded people still inside the temple and that there may have been multiple perpetrators.”

Reports also quoted an unnamed member of the Sikh community saying that a Sikh priest visiting from New Delhi, India, was said to have been shot at, at the scene of the crime. Even as breaking news indicated that at least one gunman may still be inside the gurudwara, law enforcement officers were said to have “returned fire and [a] shooter was put down.”

One police officer was injured in an exchange of fire. Chief Bradley Wentlandt of the Greenfield, Wisconsin Police said that “multiple rounds were exchanged and the officer was shot multiple times,” and the shooter was “presumed deceased.” Mr. Wentlandt however noted that based on information on police scanners there was still no clear evidence that there were multiple perpetrators.

While Mr. Biblo said no women or children had been brought into the hospital yet, Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh council on Religion and Education in Washington said that women and children may have been among those in the gurudwara at the time of the shooting, generally on site at this time of day to prepare the community meal.

However, other local hospitals reportedly received victims from the shooting incident too and a full list of potential victims was not yet available. Amardeep Kaleka who said his father was in the gurudwara at the time of the attack, said to media outlets that his father had sought refuge apparently hid in a closet and said to his son on the phone, “They’re out there.”

Mr. Kaleka added that the police informed him around "26 to 28 people had been shot", including the head priest who was "bleeding profusely."

Meanwhile the Indian embassy in Washington said that it was "seized of the situation and has been in touch with the National Security Council in Washington, D.C." While the Indian Consulate General in Chicago too has been in "close touch with the local authorities to monitor the situation," the embassy also noted that an official has been deputed to visit the site "to ascertain the situation on-the-spot."

Police describe chaotic scene

Authorities were on the scene on Sunday of shootings at the Sikh Temple near Milwaukee, where police and witnesses described a chaotic situation with an unknown number of victims, suspects and possible hostages.

Police were called to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the suburb of Oak Creek on Sunday morning, when witnesses said several dozen people were gathering for a service. They responded with a dozen ambulances, although Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt said it wasn’t clear how many people had been shot.

Mr. Wentlandt also said it wasn’t clear how many suspects were involved, although one opened fire on an officer and the officer “put down” that man. Wentlandt said the officer was shot multiple times.

Three shooting victims, all men, were taken to Froederdt Hospital in Milwaukee, the main trauma center for the area, spokeswoman Carolyn Bellin said. One was in the operating room, another in a surgical intensive care unit and the third was being evaluated in the emergency room, she said.

Sukhwindar Nagr, of Racine, said he called his brother-in-law’s phone and a priest at the temple answered and told him that his brother-in-law had been shot, along with three priests. The priest also said women and children were hiding in closets in the temple, Mr. Nagr said.

No service tax to be levied on NRI remittances: Finance Ministry

New Delhi, July 10

The Finance Ministry today clarified that no service tax would be levied on NRI remittances from overseas.

The clarification by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which functions under the Finance Ministry, follows concerns over reports that there was a move to levy 12 per cent tax on money sent back home by Indians abroad under the changed service tax regime from July 1.

The CBEC said in a circular “that the matter has been examined and it is clarified that there is no service tax per se on the amount of foreign currency remitted to India from overseas”. In the negative list regime, “service” excludes transaction in money. As the amount of remittance comprises money, the activity does not comprise a “service” and is not subjected to service tax, the circular clarifies.

It further added that “in case any fee or conversion charges are levied for sending such money, they are also not liable to service tax as the person sending the money and the company conducting the remittance are located outside India. Such services are deemed to be provided outside India and thus not liable to service tax”.

It has been further clarified that even the Indian counterpart bank or financial institution which charges the foreign bank for the services provided at the receiving end, is not liable to service tax as the place of provision of such service is outside India.

The clarification will alleviate concerns of NRIs as India is one of the top recipient of remittances ($64 billion in 2011), according to the World Bank data. Given the dire need for dollar at a time when current account deficit is high and Rupee is under pressure, any move to levy service tax on NRI remittances would have been disastrous.

CMs of Punjab and Kerala, which are among the states receiving the largest remittances from NRIs, had taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

M Rafeeque Ahmed, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said that towards addressing the trade deficit, remittances were the single largest source of unconditional flow of foreign exchange into India, according to estimates by the World Bank. Given the slowdown and declining levels of foreign exchange, service tax could only act as a deterrent to precious incoming foreign exchange, he added.

He said the waiver of service tax on the same would ensure that this stable source of foreign exchange would continue to maintain the delicate balance of payments position of India at this moment of global crisis. 

WHY THE CLARIFICATION  Concerns were being expressed over reports that there was a move to levy 12% tax on money sent back home by Indians abroad under the changed service tax regime from July 1 THE FINAL WORD  The matter has been examined and it is clarified that there is no service tax per se on the amount of foreign currency remitted to India from overseas  As the amount of remittance comprises money, the activity does not comprise a “service” and is not subject to service tax  In case any fee or conversion charges are levied for sending such money, they are also not liable to service tax as the person sending the money and the company conducting the remittance are located outside India

CALIFORNIA MURDERS

Ex-Indian Army officer kills family, self in US 

Los Angeles, June 10
A former Indian Army officer, Major Avtar Singh, who was wanted in India for the murder of a prominent Kashmiri lawyer, has killed himself along with his wife and two children in his California home.

Singh (47) had fled to the United States after he was accused of killing Jaleel Andrabi, a Kashmiri lawyer and activist associated with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), whose body was found floating in the Jhelum River in March 1996.

Andrabi, 42, was allegedly detained by a unit of Rashtriya Rifles led by Major Singh and his body was found a day later.

Authorities in Selma, California, believe Singh shot his family and then took his own life. Singh was found dead in the living room with an apparent gunshot wound to his head, officials said.

Singh called Selma police around 6:15 am yesterday and told them that he had killed members of his family and was going to kill himself, frenscobee.com quoted the Fresno County Sheriff's Office as saying.

A woman, believed to be Singh's wife, and a three-year-old boy were found in the home's master bedroom dead of gunshot wounds to the head, officials said.

The body of a 15-year-old boy was discovered in another bedroom, also with a gunshot wound to the head.

Selma police called the Fresno County Sheriff's Office to assist because they were aware that Singh had military experience in India, the report said.

Outside Singh's home, officers and deputies tried to contact him verbally and by telephone, but he did not respond.

‘Three lives could have been saved had ex-Army officer been extradited to India’ 

File photo of Jaleel Andrabi 

Srinagar, June 10
As the news about the suicide by former Major Avtar Singh, the main accused in the 1996 killing of Kashmiri lawyer Jaleel Andrabi, broke this morning, the Andrabi family in uptown Srinagar rued that had New Delhi got the former Army officer extradited to India, three lives could have been saved.
“Avtar Singh’s family would have been alive if the government had conducted the trial and got him extradited from the US,” Jaleel’s elder brother Arshad Andrabi said.
Arshad said the J&K police, New Delhi, the US Government and the Interpol failed to bring justice to them. “It is also the failure of justice at all levels,” Arshad said.
Avtar Singh reportedly killed his wife and two of their children in their California home before committing suicide today. Avtar Singh, as per reports, had called the Selma police in California about the death of three family members before ending his life.
“Had Avtar Singh, against whom there was an Interpol red-corner notice, faced trial, other details about the murder of my brother would have also come to the fore.
He could not have killed my brother all alone. There must have been other persons who must have been instrumental in the killing of the noted lawyer,” Arshad said, adding that five FIRs were registered against Avtar Singh.
The 36-year-old lawyer and human rights activist, Jaleel Andrabi, was arrested by an Army team, led by a Major, on March 8, 1996, when he was driving home along with his wife. Some 20 days later, Andrabi’s decomposed, trussed-up body was recovered from the Jhelum.
The report of a special investigation team set up by the J&K High Court in June 1996 identified “an Army Major of 103 Territorial Army posted at Rawalpora as prima facie responsible for the death”.
On the orders of the High Court, a murder case was registered against Major Avtar Singh and others. Singh later fled to the US after he was accused of murder.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, Mohammed Ibrahim Wani on February 6, 2010, issued an Interpol red-corner notice against Major Avtar Singh.
The court had also directed the J&K Government and the Ministry of External Affairs to vigorously pursue the extradition of Major Avtar Singh. The case is now pending for trial before the court of the CJM, Srinagar, for over a decade.
Singh was arrested by the California police in February this year following a complaint by his wife in connection with a domestic dispute.
A noted human rights activist, Khuram Parvaiz, said the “impunity granted by the Indian state facilitated the murder of three more persons by Avtar Singh”.
“His suicide and the murder of his family members is no justice for Kashmiris. Justice is still awaited...,” he said.

A peep into the case

l Jaleel Andrabi was arrested by an Army Major on March 8, 1996
l Jaleel’s decomposed body was recovered from the Jhelum on May 27
l SIT was set up by the J&K High Court in June 1996, which identified Major Avtar Singh for Andrabi’s death
l Singh later fled to the US after he was accused of murder
l The CJM, Srinagar, on Febuaray 6, 2010, issued an Interpol red-corner notice against Major Avtar Singh. The court also directed the government to extradite him from the USl The case is lying pending for trial before the court of the CJM, Srinagar, for over a decade.

Anand Marriage Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, May 7
The government today brought before Parliament a Bill to amend the 103-year-old statute that hitherto allowed solemnisation of Sikh marriages but not their legal validation.
The Anand Marriage Amendment Bill:2012, introduced in the Rajya Sabha today by Law Minister Salman Khurshid, amends the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, by inserting a new Section enabling registration of marriages performed as per the Sikh rituals (Anand Karaj).
The amendment Bill defines the Sikh marriage ceremony as “Anand Karaj” instead of “Anand” as in the old law. Once passed by both Houses of Parliament, it will give the Sikhs the liberty to register their marriages separately and will exempt them from registering these under the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Act, 1969 (which the government plans to amend to provide for religion neutral registration of marriages across India).
The Sikhs would continue to have the option of registering their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as before. It was registration under this Act that had been causing confusion about their religious identity abroad with their marriage certificates describing them as Hindus.
Importantly, the amendment Bill doesn’t provide for divorce among Sikh couples. For a divorce, they would have to use the Hindu Marriage Act.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka, commenting on the matter, said: “Because the amendment Bill serves a limited purpose of giving Sikh religion a separate identity by allowing marriage registration under a pre-existing law, it is not a complete marriage law.
“Any religion to be recognised must have its separate ceremony of births, deaths and marriages. Sikhs didn’t have a separate marriage law so far and they wanted the Anand Marriage Act amended for the purpose. For divorce, Sikhs can use the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”
The amendment Bill clearly states that “parties whose marriage has been registered under this Act won’t be required to get marriage registered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, after the enactment of the proposed amendments in this Bill.” “Today we have won the battle for a separate identity as a religion,” said former MP Tarlochan Singh who led the movement for the Bill. “The SGPC is also against any divorce provision under the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill,” he said. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law had approved these amendments in 2007 when Veerappa Moily was Law Minister. “The Bill need not go again to the standing committee and can be simply taken up and passed,” Tarlochan Singh added.

No provision of divorce in the new BillFor seeking divorce, Sikhs would have to use the Hindu Marriage Act. The Union Cabinet had approved amendment to the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, on April 12 this year

Dangerous - Do not drink Coka-Cola and eat MENTOS together...!!! Seeing is believing ?don't you think ?!!! Last week a little boy died in Brazil after eating MENTOS and drinking Coka-Cola together. One year before the same accident happened with another boy in Brazil .. Please check the experiment that has been done by mixing Coka-Cola (or Coka-Cola light are the same) with MENTOS........ So be careful !!

 
 
 

Over thousand Gurdwaras around the world celebrate 2nd Sikh Environment Day

Today is the anniversary of Guru Har Raibecoming the seventh Guru of the Sikhs (this type of anniversary is called a Gurpurab)  in 1644.  Among the aspects of his legacy that Sikhs remember today was this Guru’s love for the natural world.

19th century painting of Guru Har Rai

Washington : As many as 1007 Sikh institutions and gurdwaras around the world celebrated March 14, the day nature and animal lover Guru Har Rai became the seventh Sikh Guru in 1644, as Sikh Environment Day.

EcoSikh, a Washington based Sikh organization, which had initiated the celebrations last year had set the goal of enrolling more than 700 Sikh institutions and gurdwaras to celebrate the day this year as compared to 450 last year.

This year it had also included Sikh run schools and Sikh-owned businesses to join in this endeavour.

Dr. Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh said: "It is amazing to see so much enthusiasm among Sikh masses and we believe that is perhaps the largest direct action by the Sikhs for the environment ever in the history.

"Guru Har Rai's life has inspired so many individuals to lead efforts at the local levels in India and all across the globe to take meaningful actions dedicated to this day."

Bandana Kaur, New York based programme director of EcoSikh in North America, said: "Many Gurdwaras are engaging in the local environmental issues in North America in their own localities and many are becoming eco-friendly in their operations."

Scores of young people are excited about this effort since it gives them the opportunity to relate to their faith in a unique way. South Hall based largest gurdwara in Europe has organized a major green drive on this day."

Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and Takhat Hazur Sahib in Nanded, Maharasthra, and Sikhs in several countries including USA, Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya and UK joined in the effort to mark the Sikh Environment Day as a tribute to Guru Har Rai, EcoSikh said.

A huge 80 per cent of NRI's in the U.S. would vote for Barack Obama over anyone else

President Barack Obama is the popular candidate for NRI's in the U.S.

Most Indian-American's would vote for Barack Obama in the November presidential elections, a study shows.

A total of 80 per cent of NRI's said they would vote for the President in the latest opinion poll.

Mitt Romney came out as the Republican favourite among remaining voters.

The online survey was conducted between February 22 to 26 with respondents from across the country.

The study conducted by Boston-based INE Media Inc. - the publisher of IndUS Business Journal and INDIA New England newspaper stated: 'Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney leads his nearest rivals Ron Paul by 24.1 percentage points and former Senator Rick Santorum by 33.4 percentage points.

'But if the presidential eU.S.lections were held today, an overwhelming 80 per cent of Asian Indians would vote for President Barack Obama.'

Upendra Mishra, publisher of IndUS Business Journal and INDIA New England told the Hindustan Times: 'This is the first survey of Asian Indians during this presidential election season.

'Indians have been primarily known in the United States for their entrepreneurial skills with excellence in the academic, scientific and technology fields, but now they're making their mark on both the local and national political scenes'.

In the survey, Romney got the maximum support among the Republican candidates from the participants with 51.9 per cent.

However, Obama came out on top with 80 per cent behind him when pitted against the Republican candidates with Romney securing 14.7 per cent of support from the participants.