Silicon Valley-based Indian-American tech entrepreneur who has pleaded guilty to wire and securities fraud charges was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and three years of supervised release after completion of his prison, announced United States Attorney office in California on April 19.
Arjun Batra, the Indian American councilmember of the San José City Council for District 10, was pleased to see himself heading to November election with 8343 votes, even while his opponent George Casey won 8788 votes.” Batra, a former IT executive, told indica, “The two of us are going into the runoffs.”
The Overseas Friends of BJP–USA (OFBJP), San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, recently organized a grand havan (a fire ritual) ceremony at the Fremont Hindu Temple. A statement from the OFBJP said that this spiritual event “marks a significant step in the journey of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat, Vikasit Bharat (One India, Great India, Developed India).”
Actor, filmmaker, and social justice advocate Nandita Das was in California recently and spoke about feminism and inequality, and was hopeful the new generation would end gender discrimination. She was invited to the 2024 Maitri Gala held March 2 in Palo Alto, CA. Das, the event’s keynote speaker, has written, directed, produced, and acted in the seven-minute short film ‘Listen to Her’. Played at the gala, the short focuses on two forms of abuse women grappled with during the pandemic lockdown — the overburden of work and a surge in domestic violence.
Indian American voters came out to vote in the 2024 United States primary elections with the hope of seeing their candidates win, and hoping that they will support the cause of bringing down spiralling inflation and of creating jobs.
At 21, Utkarsh Jain is among the youngest Republicans running for the California State Assembly District 14 seat in the upcoming primary on March 5. He will face incumbent Buffy Wicks (D) and Margot Smith (D). Jain is a student of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, exploring his interests in finance, economics, politics, sales, consulting, and entrepreneurship. A profile on his website says that “as part of a community of small business owners, he is understanding people’s needs and forging connections.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of two Indian Americans to key positions in the state administration on Sunday. According to the media note released by Newsom’s office, Hemant Dhingra, of Clovis, has been appointed to the Medical Board of California. Nisha Devi Rodrigo, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
An Indian-origin person who was involved in insider trading through which they made over a million dollars illegally was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to forfeit $130,369.28, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Judge.
Four members of an Indian American family — including the two parents and twin boys — were found dead inside their San Mateo home in California on Monday, according to the local police. Local media reported that the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide. Local and Indian media identified the couple as Anand Sujith Henry and Alice Benziger. According to court records, the husband filed for divorce in December 2016, but did not go through with it.
Indian American Ash Kalra is running for the California Assembly for the fifth time. “I made the conscious choice of serving my community rather than chasing money or entering the corporate world because I wanted a fulfilling life,” Kalra told indica in a freewheeling chat. The 52-year-old Kalra represents California’s 25th Assembly District, which encompasses the majority of San José, including downtown and open space areas in southeast Santa Clara County.
An Indian-origin man in Manteca, California allegedly killed his wife on December 31, and has been arrested and booked into San Joaquín county jail. Sixty-two-year-old Surinder Singh was arrested by Manteca Police on the night of December 31 for allegedly stabbing his wife Manjeet Kaur (38) to death that afternoon.
Graffiti on a Hindu temple in Hayward, California, sign board had upset the community.
Sherawali Temple in Hayward, California
According to Romiel Vijay Chand, owner of the Vijay Sherawali temple, the graffiti he saw on Dec 26 had a political message, written in black: “Modi is a terrorist” and “Khalistan.”The modus operandi is similar to the one seen at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Newark, California, which was vandalized on Dec 22.
Sherawali Temple, a Hindu shrine in Hayward, California, was defaced with pro-Khalistan graffiti on Thursday, only a few weeks after the Swaminarayan temple in Newark, California was defaced by anti-India graffiti. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) reported the defacement, and shared a picture of X, the microblogging platform formerly called Twitter.
The demand to recall California District 10 State Senator Aisha Wahab is building pace by the day. The California Secretary of State’s office approved petitions for circulation for the recall of Senator Wahab on December 15, and the first rally was held Dec 23 at the senator’s constituency in Fremont, Calif. More rally signature rallies are planned for Dec 30 in Milpitas and Dec 31 in Santa Clara.
Indian American Sikh engineer and former city airport commissioner Sukhdev Bainiwal will contest the from District 8 of city of San Jose. Bainiwal, who has been living in the city since age 11, says his Evergreen neighborhood has been in decline over four decades; therefore, he is determined to change its course. Topping his priority list is resolving the numerous issues that plague his favorite neighborhood.
Indian American Rishi Kumar, who is running in the crowded US Congress ballot for California’s District 16, says he is confident of his victory because of his grassroots campaign in a constituency that stretches from East San Jose to Pacifica and includes the cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View and Menlo Park. His high-tech, Silicon Valley background could well work in three of the most recognized urban tech agglomerations in the world.
Indian American Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San José) has launched an initiative to support cricket in the US. He has announced his intention to introduce an Assembly Resolution to recognize and support the sport of cricket in California.
An Indian-origin teen from California Shripriya Kalbhavi has won second place at the annual 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a premier science competition for American middle school students.
An Indian-origin man was arrested for sexually assaulting a minor girl in California. The suspect Sandeep Sandeep was arrested on charges of assault with intent to commit a sex crime, sexual battery, and false imprisonment. He was presented in court on Oct 25, and the case hearing was continued to Oct 27 for a Hindi interpreter to be present, Cynthia Sumida, spokesperson, Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney told indica.
California will celebrate the Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month (SAAM) in November. Earlier this year, California Assembly Member Ash Kalra introduced a proclamation in the California State Assembly which marks a statewide recognition and celebration of SAAM next month.
A 50-year-old Indian American Jaswinder Bhangoo of Bakersfield, California pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing $163,750 in Covid-19 relief money, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
A 29-year-old Indian-origin man has been arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly shot at and killed his girlfriend at a parking garage in California. Simranjit Singh was arrested last week after police suspected him of killing his 34-year-old girlfriend at Galleria mall’s five-story parking garage in Roseville city.
A 41-year-old Indian American former executive has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $2.7 million from his employer. Varun Aggarwal, who worked at a commercial real estate agency in California, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of wire fraud for submitting fictitious invoices for companies controlled by his family and friends, whose services never were performed.
The California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee has approved the proposed anti-caste discrimination legislation SB403 on August 16. SB403 was authored and presented by State Senator Aisha Wahab. The approved version will now be sent to vote soon in the state Assembly.
The raging wildfire that swept through Lahaina town on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week has killed at least 93 people, making it the most deadly US fire in a century. Maui County officials said early Sunday that firefighting crews are continuing to extinguish flare-ups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires. In the Upcountry Maui fire, three structures in Olinda and 16 structures in Kula were destroyed.
