Vishal Jood, Haryana Man Jailed In Australia For Assault On Sikhs, Deported To India

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>New Delhi:</strong> Harayana youth, Vishal Jood who was given a jail sentence in Australia was deported. The 25-year-old was found guilty for attacking Sikhs the country's immigration and citizenship minister tweeted.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">He claimed that he was upholding the tricolour, the incident left the Sikh community polarized and some said that Jood had targeted only suspected pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Sydney.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>ALSO READ: <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/2XlmdQL, Sapper Punch': Start-Up Develops Non-Lethal Weapons For Indian Troops Focused On Hand-To-Hand Combat</a></span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Times of India reported that a roadshow was organised in Karnal in his honour, which concluded at the Ror Dharamshala after Jood reached Haryana on Sunday. He was welcomed to dhol beats, surrounded by his family, community, and friends while honouring him with garlands of flowers.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">According to Times of India report, Jood was arrested in April and had pleaded guilty to three charges, including &lsquo;assault&rsquo;, &lsquo;occasioning actual bodily harm in the company of others and &lsquo;armed with the intention to commit indictable offence&rsquo; after eight charges including racial hate crime. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison in September 2021 with parole after six months.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Jood who was a student in Australia was living in the country on an expired visa, his deportation was followed by a strongly worded response from the country's Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, who tweeted, &nbsp;"Attempts to undermine Australia's social cohesion will not be tolerated".</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Attempts to undermine Australia&rsquo;s social cohesion will not be tolerated. <a href="https://ift.tt/3AUWbS6> &mdash; Alex Hawke MP (@AlexHawkeMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexHawkeMP/status/1449524040058560512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <p style="text-align: justify;"> <script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;">"I thank community leaders who have worked to build cross-community unity and resilience against attempts by a small minority to incite discord and disharmony, demonstrating the importance and benefit of our nation's strong social cohesion," the Australian minister further tweeted.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">According to the India Link news link shared by Hawke, under the Migration Act, non-citizens who have committed serious crimes can be deported at the end of their jail sentence. The report also said that he was 'was rushed out of Australia on the first available flight to India'.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Support for Jood</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Vishal Jood who received a warm welcome on Sunday in Karnal, over the months saw a lot of support from Harayana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP leader Kapil Mishra, BJP Youth wing national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and Olympian Neeraj Chopra according to ThePrint report in early September.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Welcome Back Hero<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VishalJood?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VishalJood</a><br /><a href="https://t.co/eH96g5NIy2">pic.twitter.com/eH96g5NIy2</a></p> &mdash; Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) <a href="https://twitter.com/TajinderBagga/status/1449767332553711617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <p> <script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;">CM Khattar in June asked the Australian authorities to release him.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">In July, CM Khattar wrote a letter to the minister of state, ministry of external affairs and ministry of culture Meenakshi Lekhi over Jood's release, urging her that high priority intervention to secure justice for a 'Son of Haryana' in Australia.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Khattar wrote that he had received representations from various quarters including his family who have conveyed to him that Vishal Jood got into a tussle with a group, that was raising anti-Indian slogans and even desecrating the Indian national flag and these groups have subsequently framed him on false charges.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p>