Indian businessman shot dead in Mississippi

The murder of 56-year-old Vinod Taneja last week has heightened the growing sense of insecurity among Indian businessmen, who run as many as 65 gas stations and convenience stores in Jackson.

Taneja, who had migrated to the US in 2001 and acquired the gas station last May, was gunned down by a man wearing a "Scream" mask and dark clothes.

Apparently, the same attacker had attempted a robbery at Taneja's establishment in September and threatened to revisit him. 

The Taneja family's American dream was cut short just on the day his wife was to arrive from India to join him. She landed at the Jackson international airport a couple of hours after the murder. The family plans to sell off the business and return to India shortly, Taneja's brother-in-law Jitender Sachdeva said.

"There have been 14 break-ins at Indian-owned stores in Jackson, beginning June this year," says Peara Singh Kelsey, a community activist and president of the Jackson's Guru Nanak Foundation that runs a gurdwara.

In another case, Jagraj "Joe" Cheema, owner of a Chevron gas station, has been a victim of two robberies since 1999. While these cases have not been solved, police arraigned Cheema earlier this year for firing at the wheels of a car, whose owner sought to escape without paying for the gas.

The Indian storeowners have sought a meeting with Jackson's  Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr to discuss their security concerns. The city police, which is still to crack the case, disputes the contention about the sharp rise in crimes directed at Indian businesses.

Kelsey and Hitesh Desai, president of the India Association of Mississippi, view the incidents more as robberies than as racial crimes. Jackson is said to have a high crime incidence. Taneja's murder is the 55th homicide in the city this year.

US female preacher stabbed 33 times

DEC 29: The family of a Palestinian female preacher, who was stabbed to death on December 17 in her Louisiana home in the United States, pointed the finger at religious hatred.

Ahmad Jamal Muhanna, the brother of slain Iman, told IslamOnline.net, that the grisly killing of his sister showed no sign of forced entry or robbery.

An autopsy showed Iman, who was six months pregnant with a girl, was stabbed 33 times in the upper body, and that some of those wounds were defensive.

“Whoever killed Iman did not target her person but her Da`wah activities and Islam,” said Ahmad, who lives in Gaza City.

Iman, who was 42 when she was killed, had founded the Muslim Academy in Gretna, he added.

Ahmad recalled that in the wake of the 9/11 attacks she had complained of mounting insecurity and bigotry.

“Iman, however, never caved in to religious discrimination or harassment she suffered because of her faith,” he added.

Ahmad further added that his sister was known among the Muslim community in Louisiana as an avid activist and preacher.

“She was loved by her community and non-Muslim Americans alike.”

Iman graduated from the faculty of Islamic studies in the Islamic University in Gaza and was noted for her academic excellence.

The mother of nine-year-old Ahmad also held an MA in Islamic studies from the United States.

She is the sister-in-law of Abdel Halim Al-Ashqar, one of seven candidates in the January 9 election to replace late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.

Ahmad said an investigation is underway to find the culprit, noting that representatives of the Muslim community gave the government one month to decipher the mystery otherwise they would hire private detectives.

They further placed a bounty on the head of the murderer, he added.

Hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims in the US increased to record levels, by 1,700% in 2001 according to crime statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A May 2004 report released by the US Senate Office Of Research concluded that the Arab Americans and the Muslim community in the United States have taken the brunt of the Patriot Act and other federal powers applied in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Amnesty International further said that racial profiling by US law enforcement agencies had grown over the past three years to cover one in nine Americans, mostly targeting Muslims.

(IslamOnline.net)

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