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California accident: Punjab truck driver’s kin say drug charge false
Urge Centre, Akal Takht and SGPC to ensure Jashanpreet Singh, 21, is not subjected to injustice in the United States.
The Gurdaspur-based family of 21-year-old truck driver Jashanpreet Singh, who has been arrested in the US for causing a crash that left three people dead on a highway in California on October 21, has termed the charge that he was under the influence of drugs “false and fabricated”.
The US authorities found that Jashanpreet was an illegal immigrant who had entered the country through its southern border in 2022. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency lodged a detainer request following his arrest on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Jashanpreet’s large trailer truck had struck slowing traffic, igniting a fire that claimed three lives and injured several others, including him.
Jashanpreet’s father, Ravinder Singh, who used to drive a school bus and has a small land holding at Purana Shalla village in Gurdaspur district, said the drug charges against his son were baseless. “Our family is amritdhari (committed to the Sikh code of conduct). My son has abstained from intoxicants and not touched any drug ever. I worked hard to send him to the US to improve our lot. This incident has ruined our family”, he said, breaking down.
He showed an old photo of Jashanpreet, his only son, in nihang (Sikh martial) attire taking part in a nagar kirtan (religious procession).
His mother said, “We have brought up Jashanpreet with religious values. He used to recite the Gurbani daily. He can never be intoxicated.”
As residents of the village gathered at the family’s house to express solidarity, the parents sought the Centre’s intervention and urged Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to ensure justice for Jashanpreet.
Ravinder Singh told the media, “It was a tragic accident and we express condolences with the families of those who lost their precious lives. Our sympathy is with them. It should not have happened.”
“We appeal to the Narendra Modi government to take up the issue with the US government. We also urge Akal Takht, SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to raise the concern at the highest level to ensure that my son is not subjected to any injustice in the US,” he added.
