Virginia: A federal jury in the US State of Virginia has convicted an Indian-American couple on charges of forced labour and human trafficking after a two-week trial, according to a US attorney. The couple now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and mandatory restitution for the charge of forced labour.
The couple were identified as Harmanpreet Singh (30) and Kulbir Kaur (43), who forced the victim to provide labour and services at their store, including working as the cashier, preparing food, cleaning and managing store records, for May 8. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said the Singhs exploited the victim’s trust and his desire to attend school in the United States and then inflicted physical and mental abuse against him for their profit.
According to the US Department of Justice, Singh and Kaur used various coercive means to force their kin into labour, such as by confiscating the victim's immigration documents and subjecting the victim to physical abuse, threats of force and other serious harm. The victim was also sometimes kept in degrading living conditions to compel him to work extensive hours for minimal pay, said the Justice Department.
"These defendants engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victim with false promises of an education in the United States and instead subjecting him to gruelling hours, degrading living conditions and a litany of mental and physical abuse,” said US Attorney Jessica D Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Physical abuse and threats against victim
Prosecutors alleged the victim was enticed by the accused in 2018, when he was a minor, to travel to the US with false promises of helping him enrol in an American school. After arriving in the US, the defendants took his immigration documents and immediately put him to work. He was also left at the store to sleep in a back office for days at a time on several occasions, with limited access to food.
He was also denied access to medical care or education and was monitored via surveillance equipment both at the store and in their home, and he was also forced to overstay his visa after they refused to let him return to India. Singh, on some occasions, slapped and kicked him when he requested his immigration documents back and tried to leave, and on three different occasions threatened the victim with a revolver for trying to take a day off and for trying to leave, according to court documents.
“Forced labour and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that have no place in our society, and I am grateful to our team of prosecutors, agents and support staff for ensuring that justice was done in this case,” Aber said.
Forced labour case in Missouri
Last year, a similar case emerged in Missouri when a 20-year-old Indian student was rescued by authorities after he was held captive for months without access to a bathroom, brutally beaten and forced to work at three homes by his cousin and two other men. Prosecutor Joe McCulloch described the incident as "absolutely inhumane and unconscionable" that a person could be treated in such a condition.
Police arrested three accused, namely Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa after they went to a home in St Charles County. The accused were charged with several offences including human trafficking, kidnapping and assault. The identity of the Indian student was not disclosed.
According to the charges, the student was locked in a basement and forced to sleep on an unfinished floor without access to a bathroom for over seven months. The victim was forced to scavenge for scraps from nearby restaurant dumpsters and was viciously beaten by a variety of tools, including an electrical wire, PVC pipe, metal rods, water supply hose and more, as per reports.
(with inputs from PTI)
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