Sikh police officer 'left humiliated for refusing to remove turban during training’

A Sikh police officer was “humiliated” by his Greater Manchester Police colleagues after refusing to remove his turban for training and undergoing practices that would breach his faith, an employment tribunal heard.

By Andrew Hough

Gurmeal Singh, 31, was “deeply offended” by his Greater Manchester Police colleagues’ actions that left him suffering panic attacks and high blood pressure and has been hospitalised twice.
Pc Singh, who is based at Wythenshawe Police station, near Manchester, told the hearing that he was told to remove his turban during a training exercise.

He also claims he was “coerced” into walking through a petrol fire, despite telling trainers about a flammable gel he had applied to his beard, which he feared if it was burnt would break the strict beliefs which he had observed since he was 15.
When officers suggested he get a modified turban, the officer, who joined the force in 2003 as a Police Community Support officer at Northernden police station, said he feared he would be made to look like a character from the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.
The tribunal in Manchester heard that he felt like he was from an episode of the TV sitcom in which Del Boy Trotter took a delivery of “crash turbans” - helmets with cloth wrapped around it. When he complained, he claimed one sergeant appeared to trivialise the matter, telling him: “This is what you signed up for.”
Senior officers were even alleged to have made “racist remarks about machine gunning down Eid celebrators” who were celebrating the end of Ramadan, the hearing heard.
The officer, who is claiming £200,000 in compensation from the force, was serving at Northenden, Greater Manchester at the time.
"I am deeply offended by the way I have been treated by the police organisation and by various colleagues," he told the hearing.
“My turban is not an article of clothing like a shirt or tie - it is part of me, a part of my religion and I feel as though my religion and I have become an issue for GMP.
“It has made me feel alienated. I was deeply offended and humiliated.”
The hearing was told PC Singh was off sick in April for three months but has returned to light duties at Wythenshawe police station.
GMP deny racial discrimination.
The British Sikh Police Association is backing PC Singh in his legal action.
The hearing continues.

Mohali golf range threatens to wipe out Sikh history

CHHAPAR CHIRI (Mohali): Raminder k Bhatia for TOI.
The most significant slice of Sikh history, the battleground where the Khalsa avenged the killing of the two younger sons of the 10th Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh, may soon be lost to a swank golf range if the recently approved master plan of Mohali is executed. Barely 20 km away from Chandigarh, off Kharar-Landran road, lies Chhappar-Chiri village — once known for its plentiful ponds and mangroves on the banks of Patiala Ki Rao — where in 1710, the brave Banda Singh, anointed general of the Khalsa army by Guru Gobind Singh and sent to stop the tyranny of Mughals, defeated the army of Wazir Khan, the subedar of Sirhind who had ordered the killing of Sahibzada Zoravar Singh and Fateh Singh by bricking them alive. Khan was put to death and his body dragged to Sirhind, about 25 km from the village, before the Khalsa army proceeded to decimate the town. Sikh historians are unanimous in their observation that this was the most important victory against the Mughals as it paved the way for a number of similar triumphs across several towns in Punjab. Yet, except for a simple board, bearing a history of the place, outside the local gurdwara, there are no memorials even though the place, spread across 14-15 acre of dense forests, has been visited by many VIPs, including CM Parkash Singh Badal, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and his predecessor GS Tohra. The gurdwara displays five handmade iron weapons and turban rings (chakkar) which were dug out by a farmer while installing a tubewell. ‘‘We’ve heard from our ancestors how the Khalsa forces, despite being outnumbered and ill-equipped, used the forest and guerrilla warfare tactics to defeat a far superior army,” says Zora Singh, a former sarpanch, whose ancestors’ participation in the war has been documented in books on the battle.

India politician YSR Reddy killed in helicopter crash

A powerful Indian politician has been killed along with four others in a helicopter crash in southern India, the government has confirmed.
The wreckage of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's helicopter was found on a hill a day after it disappeared. This followed a massive search operation involving 11 aircraft and over 2,000 security personnel. Mr Reddy, 60, was an influential politician from the Congress party. He was elected for a second term in state elections this year.
Announcing Mr Reddy's death, India's home minister P Chidambaram said: "It is not possible to say why the helicopter crashed."
He said preliminary investigations showed that the helicopter, which was heading south, had changed direction and hit a small hill, east of Kurnool.
Mr Chidambaram said the "charred" bodies of the chief minister, his personal assistant, security officer and two pilots were being retrieved from the crash site. "We are in deep mourning. There is a deep sense of shock and loss," Mr Chidambaram said.
Congress party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told a local television channel that Mr Reddy was a "dynamic leader" and his death was "tragic".
Television footage showed Mr Reddy's family and supporters crying after news emerged that there had been no survivors in the crash.
Thursday's discovery of the helicopter on a hill some 70km (43 miles) east of Kurnool follows a massive search and rescue operation launched by the state government.

Remote forest
Rain reduced many areas to mud, making the search difficult. The Bell helicopter carrying Mr Reddy was on what should have been a two-hour flight from Hyderabad's Begumpet airport.
It took off at 0845 IST (0315 GMT) on Wednesday bound for the village of Anupally in Chittoor district.
The aircraft went missing over Kurnool district more than an hour before it was due to land.
The remote Nallamalla forest area where it vanished is a stronghold of Maoist rebels in Andhra Pradesh state.
But federal officials have ruled out the possibility that insurgents shot down the helicopter.
Andhra Pradesh is one of a number of Indian states with a significant Maoist rebel presence.

California recognises Sikh's right to carry Kirpan

This was long awaited by the Sikh community in California and elsewhere in the US where everyone with a turban, sporting a beard was construed as a Taliban, a terrorist, a threat, and security agencies were unduly harsh on them.

In a significant move, the first in the right direction, the California State Legislature has unanimously passed a bill to train law enforcement personnel about Sikhs and the religious significance of carrying Kirpans (swords).The move is directed towards reducing the number of wasteful arrests of Sikhs. The legislation, AB 504, was unanimously passed and now needs Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature to become law.California Assembly member Warren Furutani, who introduced the bill, is of the view that a legislation like this is an important as it recognises the state's responsibility to protect religious freedoms, while ensuring public safety at the same time.

"The Sikh community should not live in fear of arrest by law enforcement for carrying the kirpan, which is an integral part of their religious faith," Furutani was reported saying.The bill defines kirpan as a blade that resembles a sword and is required to be carried as an integral part of the practice of the Sikh faith. While many police departments recognise it, the legislation aims to standardise the process state-wide. The Sikh Coalition, a Sikh advocacy group, hailed the passage of the bill as historic.

Curfew imposed in parts of Punjab, Army called in

A sect leader, 56-year-old Sant Ram Nand, was killed and Sant Niranjan Dass along with 30 others was injured in the attack.Sant Ram Nand underwent emergency surgery but died during on Sunday night.

Jalandhar: The violence over the killing of a Sikh sect leader in Vienna is spreading in Punjab with a mob on Monday setting three bogies of the Kanyakumari-Jammu Tavi Express on fire as the train was passing through Phagwara in Punjab.
Some vehicles, too, have been torched and roads blocked by protestors in Phagwara.
Curfew has been imposed in Phagwara, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur following the violence in the area. Paramilitary forces have been sent to Phagwara to control violence.
Protestors also blocked traffic near Ambala and traffic on National Highway One has been disrupted.
All protests till now have been confined to the Doaba region of the Punjab where Dera Sachh Khand whose leader Sant Ram Nand was killed on Sunday night in a clash with a rival sect in Vienna, Austria.
In Patiala, a large group of people took to the streets chanting slogans. Chandigarh is also on high alert with important roads leading to the city have been blocked.
The authorities have already called in six companies of paramilitary forces and eight columns of the Army to control the situation.
Violence has also spilled out on national highways blocking roads to Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur and at other places in the Doaba region.
Buses have also been damaged in Amritsar while in Nakodar, thousands came out on streets and pelted stones on the police.
The violence started when six people armed with knives and a hand gun attacked a preacher Sant Niranjan Dass of Dera Sachh Khand inside a gurudwara in Veinna.
A dispute over the sermon is said to have triggered the attack. A sect leader, 56-year-old Sant Ram Nand, was killed and Sant Niranjan Dass along with 30 others was injured in the attack.
Sant Ram Nand underwent emergency surgery but died during on Sunday night.
The six attackers have been arrested and are believed to be followers of another sect.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said the Union Government is in touch with the local authorities and keeping a close watch on the situation.
"It is unfortunate that a gurudwara has been made the place to attack and counterattack. It is sad that Sant Ram Nand has lost his life. This is no place for violence and no excuse whatsoever for violation of a sacred place to serve narrow sectarian interests. We are in touch with local authorities," said Krishna.
Condemning the killing of Sant Ram Nand in Vienna, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash also appealed for calm and asked people not to be provoked by elements spreading unrest.
(With inputs from Jyoti Kamal)

30 wounded in Sikh temple shootout in Vienna

VIENNA: Police in Austria say up to 30 people have been wounded, nine severely, in a shooting at a gurdwara, Sikh place of worship, in Vienna. Police spokesman Michael Takacs told Austria Press Agency five men entered the place of worship early afternoon Sunday and started firing at those present. Police arrested all five suspects, Takacs said. Four ambulances and three medical helicopters were involved in hopitalizing the victims. The temple is situated in Vienna-Rudolfsheim, the capital's 15th district.

It's official: Krishna gets MEA, Pranab new FM

New Delhi: S M Krishna was appointed the new External Affairs Minister on Saturday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deciding to give the key portfolio of Finance to Pranab Mukherjee while retaining P Chidambaram as Home Minister.
Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee will head the Railway Ministry while Sharad Pawar and A K Antony will continue as Agriculture Minister and Defence Minister respectively, a Rashtrapathi Bhavan spokesperson said.
The Prime Minister will hold the charge of all the other ministries, which are yet to be allocated, the spokesperson said.
The first expansion of the Cabinet is expected to take place on Tuesday after which all the remaining portfolios will be announced.
However, the wait continues for 13 others who were sworn in on Friday. The limited allocation of portfolios was announced by the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the advice of the Prime Minister, who preferred to get down to business and distributed ministries on which there are apparently no no differences.
Portfolios for Ministers including Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jaipal Reddy, Anand Sharma and new entrants like Veerappa Moily and C P Joshi are yet to be announced.
It's also the first time that portfolios are being announced in a staggered manner.

Team Manmohan Singh : PM, 19 ministers sworn in

New Delhi: A 19-member Cabinet was sworn in along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday evening in the first round of ministry formation. There were four new faces among them. Among the new entrants to the union Cabinet are Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Rajasthan Congress party President CP Joshi, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Veerappa Moily and former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna.
Anand Sharma, who earlier was a minister of state for External Affairs and also held independent charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry gets a Cabinet berth and so does Bijoy Krishna Handique who was the minister of state for Chemicals and Fertilisers and Parliamentary Affairs.
Former Human Resources Development minister Arjun Singh has been dropped from the Cabinet, which many party insiders attribute to his poor health. According to officials in the Prime Minister's Office more Cabinet ministers, ministers of state as well as junior ministers will be inducted in the second round of oath taking on Tuesday.

After the failure of talks with the DMK on the distribution of ministerial portfolios, crisis managers in the Congress party thought it would be best to go ahead with the first round of oath taking where sure-shot Cabinet ministers would be included.
With the DMK insisting on seven ministerial berths – three Cabinet level, two ministers of state (MoS) with independent charge and two other MoS – Congress managers decided they would engage in another round of discussions to arrive at a compromise formula.
"By this weekend, we will sort out matters on berth allocation with the DMK. And in the next round we also have to include the youth brigade," said a senior functionary in the Prime Minister's Office.

Manmohan to take oath along with 19 cabinet ministers

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take oath at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the capital this evening along with 19 Cabinet Ministers, top Congress sources disclosed on Friday. The sources confirmed that former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna would be among those to be sworn in by President Pratibha Patil.The list of probable cabinet ministers who will be taking oath today: Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister), Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, S K Krishna, Murli Deora, Gulam Nabi, Sharad Pawar,Mamata Banerjee, Kamal Nath, Jaipal Reddy, Sushil Kumar Shinde, N Veerappamoily, CP Joshi, Anand SharmaB K Handique, Ambika Soni, Miera Kumar and Vayalar Ravi.HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Law Minister H R Bhardwaj do not reportedly figure in the planned first round of government formation. “There will be no Ministers of State in the present round of oath taking,” a senior leader in the know of the PM’s mind told Hindustan Times. He said the Finance portfolio will in all probability go to Pranab Mukherjee, for whose current External Affairs portfolio there are three contenders: Krishna, Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath.Among the allies to be administered oath are the NCP’s Sharad Pawar and Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee as the DMK’s Karunanidhi has decided to extend outside support as bargaining tactics for more ministerial berths for his party.From the Congress side, P Chidambaram, A K Antony, Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal and Jaipal Reddy are to be inducted in the first round of government formation. There is strong possibility of Kamal Nath being shifted out of the Commerce portfolio. If that happens, he will be the front-runner for External Affairs.No changes are forecast in the Home and Defence Ministries where Chidambaram and Antony are Cabinet Ministers.

Sri Lanka wins last battle, 'Tigers' extinct

LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead

Colombo: Sri Lankan troops won the final battle in a separatist conflict seen as one of the world's most intractable wars, and put the island nation under government control for the first time since 1983, the military said.
In the climactic final gunbattle, special forces troops killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran as he tried to flee the war zone in an ambulance early on Monday, state television reported.
LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Soosai, head of the ‘Sea Tiger’ naval wing, were also believed killed, the report said.
Prabhakaran founded the LTTE on a culture of suicide before surrender, and had sworn he would never be taken alive.
Army commander Lt-Gen. Sarath Fonseka said troops on Monday morning had finished the task given to them by President Mahinda Rajapaksa three years ago.

"We have liberated the entire country by completely liberating the north from the terrorists. We have gained full control of LTTE-held areas," Fonseka announced on state TV.
The end of combat and Prabhakaran's death sent the currency and stock markets to one-month and seven-month highs respectively by 0900 GMT.
They had already surged at the opening in anticipation of the war's end. Rajapaksa declared victory on Saturday, even as the final battle in Asia's longest modern war was intensifying.
The final fight played out on a sandy patch of just 300 sq metres (3,230 sq ft) near the Indian Ocean island's northeastern coast, where the military said the last rebel fighters had holed up in bunkers and surrounded themselves with land mines and booby traps.
Counting bodies
The LTTE on Sunday conceded defeat in a 25-year civil war, after a relentless Sri Lankan military offensive that retook the 15,000 sq km the rebels ran as a separate state when a 2002 truce began falling apart three years ago.
The official Media Centre for National Security said more than 250 Tigers had been killed in the final battle, which intensified on Saturday after the military said it had freed the last of 72,000 civilians trapped in the tiny war zone.
News of the Tiger chief's death came as state TV for the first time broadcast images of the body of his son and heir apparent, Charles Anthony, and other dead rebels.