Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 3: The US Justice Department has filed a civil action to revoke the citizenship of Gurmeet Singh, an Indian-born man convicted of rape and kidnapping, alleging that he concealed violent crimes during his naturalization process.

According to the complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York, Singh misrepresented key facts on his naturalization application, including a prior incident in which he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a female passenger while working as a taxi driver. The woman reportedly fell asleep in his cab, only to awaken with Singh threatening her with a knife, binding and gagging her, and then raping her.

Despite these alleged crimes, Singh successfully naturalized as a US citizen on October 19, 2011, and was later convicted in New York state court of Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a sexually motivated felony, receiving a 20-year prison sentence.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “This Department of Justice will continue to strip citizenship from those who commit heinous crimes and conceal them during the naturalization process. American citizenship is a great and sacred privilege that must be earned honestly.”

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate added, “This individual’s vile acts prove that he should not have been granted US citizenship. Singh entered our country through family-based immigration laws, then committed horrible crimes before lying about them to become a US citizen. We will now correct this injustice.”

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalized citizenship can be revoked if it was illegally obtained or procured through concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation.