An Indian-origin taxi driver convicted of kidnapping and raping a passenger in New York has had his US citizenship revoked after a federal court found that he had concealed his criminal history during the naturalisation process.
Gurmeet Singh, 55, kidnapped and raped a female passenger at knifepoint in 2011. He was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to the US Justice Department.
The department said Singh had concealed the crime while applying for US citizenship, which he obtained months after the attack.
Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that Singh had been stripped of his citizenship.
"Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a US citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalisation process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship," Blanche said.
"This department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalisation referrals. Fraudulently obtained citizenship will not protect criminals from justice," he added.
Case Against Singh
A native of India, Singh entered the US in February 1992 as a visitor for a temporary period not exceeding six months.
He remained without authorisation for years until a family-based immigrant visa petition allowed him to become a permanent resident in June 2000, the Justice Department said.
In May 2011, weeks before he filed his naturalisation application, Singh, then a taxicab driver, picked up a female passenger in Williamsburg who fell asleep during her ride home, according to a victim impact statement cited in US media reports.
He drove her to a location with no witnesses. When she awoke, she found Singh on top of her with a knife against her throat, asking if she wanted to live, per the same reports. He threatened her, bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and raped her. She escaped and ran to passersby for help at dawn.
Singh concealed these acts throughout his naturalisation proceedings, becoming a US citizen on October 19, 2011. He was later convicted in New York of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated felony.
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'A Message'
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered judgment revoking Singh's naturalisation on August 26, nearly seven months after prosecutors filed the civil denaturalisation action in February, per the Justice Department.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said Singh unlawfully obtained citizenship privileges by concealing his crimes. US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr for the Eastern District of New York said the court's judgment "sends a strong message to those who obtain citizenship through deceit."
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