Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

PICS: Thousands Attend Sikh Cop Sandeep Dhaliwal's 'Fit For A King' Funeral In The US

Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Oct, 2019 07:23 PM

    Thousands of people from all walks of life including police officers, Sikh believers, Indian-Americans and Houston-area residents turned out for the daylong ceremonies on early Wednesday to honour slain police officer Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was shot dead on duty during a traffic stop last week.

     

    Sandeep Dhaliwal, 42, was the first Sikh sheriff's deputy in Harris County with a population of over 10,000 Sikhs.

     

    Sandeep Dhaliwal made national headlines when he was allowed to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job.

     

    He was gunned down while conducting a routine mid-day traffic stop in northwest of Houston on Friday.

     

    The fallen deputy's funeral included processions, a traditional Sikh funeral and a law enforcement funeral with a 21-gun salute from fellow officers and a helicopter flyover.

     
     
     
     

    As ''Amazing Grace'' was played on the bagpipes, members of HCSO folded the American flag that covered his casket and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez presented it to Sandeep Dhaliwal's widow who clutched it to her heart. Helicopters flew overhead followed by a 21-gun salute.

     

    After final ceremonies from the law enforcement memorial service at Berry Center, the Dhaliwal family and members of HCSO headed to the Winford Funeral Home for a closed cremation.

     

    Following a final prayer by the Dhaliwal family, HCSO officers moved his casket into a hearse to escort it to the funeral home for a cremation.

     

    The rest of the community and mourners were invited to Gurdwara Sikh National Center at 7500 North Sam Houston Parkway West for the langar (communal meal).

     
     

    The procession route was lined with blue and white signs reading "Always in Our Hearts," and "In Loving Memory of Deputy Dhaliwal."

     

    People had posted custom yard signs, billboards and flowers all along the route and in the neighbourhood.

     

    The Sikh National Center had requested a dress code for those attending the ceremonies to be navy blue, just like the Harris County Sheriff's Office uniform.

     

    At the service, Simratpal Singh, a US Army Captain, flanked by other members of the Sikh community in military service, described Sandeep Dhaliwal as "humble, fearless, not dissuaded by negativity."

     

    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaking before thousands during the Sikh part of the ceremony, addressed Sandeep Dhaliwal's wife and three children in saying the community "supports you and lifts you up."

     

    "We are grateful for your father''s service, and his sacrifice and his legacy," Mr Cruz said.

     

    Sandeep Dhaliwal, the father of three joined the force 10 years back and was the state's first law enforcement officer to receive permission to wear a religious turban and beard while on duty.

     

    New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, the nation's first Sikh state's attorney general, said Sandeep Dhaliwal "inspired an entire generation of Sikhs to join public service.

     

    The services on Wednesday followed a candlelight vigil by the sheriff's office for Sandeep Dhaliwal on Monday and a 48-hour-long prayer-vigil at the Gurdwara Sikh National Center."

     
     

    The public was invited to attend the viewing and funeral services.

     

    Services were held at the Berry Center, which can accommodate up to 8,000 people, and space was set aside for overflow crowds.

     

    The services were carried live on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

     

    Sandeep Dhaliwal was killed in the town of Cypress after pulling over a vehicle for running a stop sign.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Man Jailed For Racist Remarks On Indian In Singapore

    Man Jailed For Racist Remarks On Indian In Singapore
    A man in Singapore has been sentenced to four-week jail and fined 1,000 Singaporean dollars for racist remarks, insulting an Indian national working at the Changi Airport.    

    Man Jailed For Racist Remarks On Indian In Singapore

    Indians In Britain Relive Partition With Pain

    Hitherto, the thousands of Indians who had migrated to Britain in the wake of the partition of the sub-continent had lived in silence, perhaps wanting to bury the ghosts of the past as they sought to make a new life.

    Indians In Britain Relive Partition With Pain

    Singapore Police Probes Online Rap Video For Alleged Racism

    The rap video, understood to be featuring local Indian-origin YouTuber Preeti Nair and rapper Subhas Nair, was posted on Facebook and YouTube on Monday, the Straits Times reported.  

    Singapore Police Probes Online Rap Video For Alleged Racism

    US Authorities Put Fasting Indian Asylum Seekers On Drip

    US Authorities Put Fasting Indian Asylum Seekers On Drip
    The men went on a hunger strike at the ICE detention centre on July 9, demanding they be released while they appeal their deportation orders.

    US Authorities Put Fasting Indian Asylum Seekers On Drip

    Sikh Priest In California ‘Assaulted’ On Gurdwara Campus Told ‘Go Back, Go Back’, Hate Crime Suspected

    Priest Amarjit Singh told a local newspaper that an intruder, who broke open the window to enter his house on the gurdwara premises, punched him, asked him to go back to his country and yelled obscenities at him.

    Sikh Priest In California ‘Assaulted’ On Gurdwara Campus Told ‘Go Back, Go Back’, Hate Crime Suspected

    Pakistan: 17 Killed As Military Aircraft Crashes In Residential Area Near Rawalpindi

    At least 17 people, including two pilots and three military personnel, were killed and 12 others injured when a Pakistan Army aviation aircraft on a routine training flight crashed in a residential area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi early on Tuesday.

    Pakistan: 17 Killed As Military Aircraft Crashes In Residential Area Near Rawalpindi