Indian man sentenced to eight years in prison in Canada for causing bus crash that killed 16 people
Ottawa, Jan 22: A 30-year-old Indian truck driver in Canada was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for causing a bus crash that killed 16 people, mostly members of a junior hockey team, in one of the worst disasters in the country's sporting community.
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu pleaded guilty in January to 29 counts of dangerous driving causing death or bodily injury.
On April 6, 2018, Sidhu's semi-trailer truck failed to stop at a highway intersection, killing 16 people and injuring 13 on the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos hockey team and others en route to a playoff game.
Sidhu appeared in a Melfort court Friday.
Judge Inez Cardinal empathized with the victims' families as she read out her sentencing decision.
"Most find the pain unbearable," she said. "Families have been torn apart."
Sidhu received a sentence of eight years for each fatality and five years for each person injured, to be served concurrently (at the same time).
Cardinal said no case in Canada resembles this one due to the staggering number of dead and injured. She said she knows this has been difficult, but hopes Sidhu and the victims' loved ones can now heal.
Families burst into tears after the sentence was delivered. Some immediately walked out, while others stared at the judge's empty seat at the front of court.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Sidhu was solely responsible for the crash.
A forensic collision report found he didn't brake at the intersection of Highway 335 and 35 before hitting the bus.
The report said Sidhu's view of the intersection was not impeded by any environmental factors like trees near the road or sun in his eyes.
In court, the judge noted that Sidhu was preoccupied with a flapping tarp covering his truck's load and failed to notice road signs. She said a person is not innocent simply because the consequences of their actions are not forseeable.
She said Sidhu had many chances to stop but didn't, and said it was inconceivable he missed the intersection's many large signs, including flashing lights.
In a statement, the Humboldt Broncos said the team is thankful that the matter is over and that Sidhu is being held to account for his actions.
Sidhu's sentence was two years shorter than the term prosecutors had sought but is nevertheless the harshest ever handed down in Canada for the charges he faced.
The Indian national was a legal permanent resident but does not have joint citizenship and faces likely deportation after serving his time.
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Bangladesh High Court refuses to ban ISKCON
Dhaka, Nov 28: Bangladesh High Court Thursday rejected a petition seeking a ban on ISKCON's activities in the country, days after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of a Hindu leader, previously linked to the religious group.
A lawyer had sought a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.
"The two-member High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury on Thursday declined to ban the ISKCON activities in Bangladesh," a spokesman of the attorney general's office said.
He said the bench made the decision after the attorney general's office submitted a report on the action taken by the government regarding the death of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif in the northeastern port city of Chattogram earlier this week.
Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachary, arrested earlier this week, was sent to jail by a Chattogram court on sedition charges, sparking a violent protest during which advocate Alif was killed. Chinmoy was earlier expelled from ISKCON.
"Right at this moment, the situation does not warrant the intervention of the (High) court as the State is carrying out its job (regarding the matter),” Justice Mahbub was quoted as saying by the spokesman.
The decision came a day after Attorney-General Mohammad Asaduzzaman urged the court not to take any decisions on the ISKCON issue as the government has started taking the required action.
Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque and Deputy Attorney General Asad Uddin informed the bench that three separate cases have been filed in connection with the murder of the lawyer and ISKCON's activities, and 33 accused have been arrested in these cases.
The bench then hoped that the government would remain cautious about protecting the law and order situation and the lives and properties of the people of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, ISKCON Bangladesh refuted allegations linking the organisation to the lawyer's killing, saying the claims were baseless and part of a malicious campaign.
"A series of false, fabricated, and malicious campaigns is being spearheaded targeting ISKCON Bangladesh, particularly in connection with recent events. These efforts are aimed at discrediting our organisation and creating societal unrest," general secretary of the organization Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said.
Speaking at a press conference at the organisation’s head office, he said ISKCON Bangladesh was never involved in "communal or conflict-driven activities and will continue to promote unity and harmony".
"We have already clarified the matter multiple times through press conferences and official communications with the government and administrative authorities. Regrettably, certain groups continue to deliberately spread false propaganda against our organisation and make unreasonable demands, such as banning ISKCON," Das said.
He said that Chinmoy was previously expelled from the organisation along with two others for violating its rules and none of their activities were connected to ISKCON.
ISKCON Bangladesh President Satya Ranjan Baroi also spoke at the press conference, saying their organisation was dedicated to communal harmony, religious tolerance, and the welfare of humanity and “the allegations are an attempt to tarnish our religious and social reputation".
Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum on Thursday staged a protest in front of the Supreme Court Bar, protesting the lawyer's killing and demanding the ban on ISKCON.
The group is regarded as the lawyers’ wing of ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, which led the mass upheaval to oust deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5, also demanded the ban on ISKCON.
Separately, a group of Supreme Court lawyers sent a legal notice to the Bangladesh government on Wednesday seeking the ban on ISKCON describing it as a “radical organisation.”
India on Tuesday noted with “deep concern” Chinmoy's arrest and denial of bail and urged Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all other minority groups.
Earlier, the ISKCON had urged the Bangladesh authorities to promote "peaceful coexistence" for Hindus in the country as it "strongly" denounced the arrest of the Hindu leader.
Chinmoy, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday as he was about to fly to Chattogram to join a rally.
He was denied bail and sent to jail by the Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court in a sedition case on Tuesday.
