Community fights for elderly Indian Sikh woman facing deportation from UK
London, Nov 26: The case of an elderly Indian Sikh woman, which first came to light back in 2019, has continued to attract widespread community support in the West Midlands region of England as her supporters fight against her deportation.
Gurmit Kaur, 78, came to the UK in 2009 and Smethwick has been home to her ever since, reads an online petition attracting over 65,000 signatures since it was launched in July 2020.
More recently, "We Are All Gurmit Kaur" has been running across social media as the local community continues to rally around the widow.
"Gurmit Kaur has no family to turn to in the UK and no family to return to in Punjab, so the local Sikh community of Smethwick have adopted her," reads the petition on Change.Org.
"Gurmit applied to stay but has been refused even though she has no family to return to in Punjab, India. Gurmit is a very kind woman, even though she has nothing she is still generous and will always give what she can, when she can. Most of her days are spent volunteering at the local gurdwara," it reads.
The UK Home Office maintains that Kaur was still in contact with people in her home village in Punjab and would be able to re-adjust to life there.
Salman Mirza, an immigration advisor for the Brushstroke Community Project who started the petition and is among those helping Kaur through the visa appeals process, told the BBC that her ordeal has been like torture for her.
"She has a derelict house in the village, with no roof and would have to find heating, food, and resources in a village she hasn't been to in 11 years. It's like water torture, it's like a slow death, she's never had the right to work and provide for herself," he said.
A Home Office spokesperson said that while it cannot comment on individual cases, "all applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and on the basis of the evidence provided".
Kaur first travelled to the UK in 2009 to attend a wedding and was initially living with her son.
After becoming estranged from her family, she went on to rely on the kindness of strangers. She has widespread support within her local community where she regularly volunteers at local charities.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
