Suspect pleads not guilty in US Sikh family's murder
Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Oct, 2022 12:33 PM
New York, Oct 14 (IANS) The accused in the kidnapping and killing of four members of an Indian-origin Sikh family in California, including an eight-month-old baby, pleaded not guilty to all the charges in court.
On Thursday, Jesus Salgado appeared in Merced County Superior court wearing shackles and a safety garment, ABC30 reported.
He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, along with arson and possession of a firearm by a felon.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Salgado will be back in court on December 15.
Relatives announced that the family would be laid to rest on Saturday in Turlock.
The funeral will be closed to the public but anyone who would like to support the family can gather outside the venue.
The bodies of eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39 were found in an "extremely remote" area near the intersection of Indiana and Hutchins roads.
Salgado is said to have had a long-standing feud with the family and was a former employee in their trucking business.
In a mindless act of revenge, he murdered the family.
It was reported that the suspect was undergoing medical treatment after he attempted to kill himself before officials arrived to arrest him on October 4.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke has called for Salgado to face the death penalty.
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation was quickly deteriorating after Russia's invasion. It appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs in touch with all the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine to even evacuate Indian citizens. Many citizens who were to fly back to India were left at the airport after closure of Ukrainian airspace following Russia's Vladimir Putin announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.
Amidst the prevailing tension, the Indian students stranded in Ukraine are left with no choice but to queue up outside the Indian Embassy in Kiev seeking the authorities' help as they ran out of food and money. The Russian military actions in Ukraine have triggered panic among all sections, including students from India.
Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev.
