Over 2.2 million folks have signed a web-based petition urging Florida governor Ron DeSantis to think about leniency for Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old Indian origin man dealing with vehicular murder prices within the US after a deadly crash earlier this month, reported the New York Put up.Singh, who entered the US illegally in 2018, is accused of constructing an unlawful U-turn on the Florida Turnpike on August 12 whereas driving a tractor-trailer, resulting in a crash that killed three folks. If convicted, he faces as much as 45 years in jail – 15 years for every rely of vehicular murder beneath Florida regulation.The petition, hosted on Change.org and signed beneath the identify “Collective Punjabi Youth,” describes the incident as a “tragic accident – not a deliberate act.”It reads, “whereas accountability issues, the severity of the costs towards him doesn’t align with the circumstances of the incident.”Social media has been divided over the petition, with numerous customers expressing assist for Singh and calling the attainable sentence extreme. Many commenters, particularly from the Indian diaspora, have mentioned Singh made a mistake whereas working to assist his household. “It was an accident. He made a horrible mistake, not a deliberate option to hurt anybody,” wrote Marvi from Sydney.Others, nonetheless, have criticised the transfer to hunt leniency, arguing that justice have to be equal for all, no matter immigration standing.Singh’s kinfolk in Punjab, India have additionally appealed for a lighter sentence. “His age is 28 years, and if he will get 45 years of jail, then you possibly can think about what would be the situation of his household,” a member of the family, Dilbagh Singh, informed The Instances of India.Singh reportedly fled to California after the crash however was arrested by US Marshals and returned to Florida to face trial. Based on US data, Singh had entered the nation illegally six years in the past, mortgaging land again house. He was initially detained on the border and later launched on bond whereas his immigration case remained pending. He had cited a concern of returning to India attributable to potential violence and was allowed to remain and work within the US throughout ongoing proceedings.Following the crash, the US division of homeland safety denied him bond, calling him “a major menace to public security.”The case has additionally drawn political consideration. After secretary of state Marco Rubio moved to freeze business driver visas in response to the crash, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, MP from Punjab raised considerations over potential discrimination.“Punjabi and Sikh drivers make up 20% of the US’ trucking business,” she mentioned. “Any mass-level motion towards them would have a detrimental impact on trucking households and can be discriminatory.”
