GALLERY

Indian Consul in Brisbane sacked for forgery

By Special Correspondent

The Honorary Consul of India in Brisbane, Parsram Punj has been asked to vacate his office, pending disposal of charges against him. Mr Punj has been accused of attempted perversion of justice and forgery and is currently facing charges.
“Mr Punj is stepping down from the post with immediate effect till the period of the court case and the announcement of the final verdict.
Depending upon the verdict, a decision will be taken whether he should be allowed to continue as the Honorary Consul,” the Indian high commissioner R S Rathore, said.
“The Australian Foreign Office has been suitably informed,” he added.
The charges brought against Mr Punj, a grain exporter stated that he had falsified a pest clearance document to allow 851 bags of alfalfa to be sent to Argentina.
He is also alleged to have attempted to get an employee to take the blame for the forged document. Mr Punj is undergoing trial for attempted perversion of justice and forgery of Commonwealth documents at the Queensland District Criminal Court in Brisbane.
During the first trial in June, Mr Punj's daughter, Anita Aggarwal, a co-accused, was indicted for perversion of Commonwealth Act and sentenced to four months' imprisonment.
She appealed against the sentence.

Rogue lawyer leaves home owners high and dry

A lawyer in Hamilton has been sentenced to a three year prison term for his role in a housing scam that has left a number of home owners high and dry with little hopes of recovering their lost property and money.
Prem Kumar, the 39 year old offending lawyer has been ordered to pay $36,000 in court costs while the New Zealand Law Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal ordered that he be removed from legal practice for his role in a $2.2 million housing scam in Hamilton.
Two others-farmer Tony Ralph Burrell and another man who has been given name suppression have also been awarded similar sentences.
All three had neither assets nor any funds in their bank accounts.
The court heard how Kumar was guilty of drawing down $53 million from his trust account between August 1999 and February 2000 and diverting the amount to his business accounts, which is illegal and betrayal of trust.
He and his two accomplices were convicted of having engineered a scheme to purchase 46 former New Zealand Housing homes with monies obtained through fraudulent means and milking unsuspecting victims’ houses. Declaring Kumar and Burrell bankrupt, Judge Robert Spear said they had destroyed the lives of many of the victims, mainly elderly and low income Maori families who had lost more than $2 million.
Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Office said it was unlikely to receive any reparation from the convicted men although they were reported to have milked more than $500,000 as profit through the fraudulent scheme. Burrell was convicted in 1993 of ‘large scale dishonest offending’ that included burglary, sale of cannabis and aggravated assault.’
The presiding judge said that he had sentenced one Mike John McKelvy, a co-accused of the trio to 10 month’s periodic detention and a fine of $10,000 in an earlier case.
He had pleaded guilty to one of the charges and had agreed to be a prosecution witness against the others. “I had to rely on the claim of the Serious Fraud Office that McKelvy was the least serious offender. Of course, I know a lot more now,” Judge Spear said.
Many callers to Indian Newslink expressed concern over the scam and said that they would exercise caution in dealing with such rouge lawyers.
“It is always better to go to well established law firms. They may be a little more expensive but at least we could be sure of our money and property being safe,” one of the callers from Hamilton who wished to remain anonymous said.

Chip off the old block shines in public life

WHILE average individuals ponder over the mundane things in life as they walk down the street, businessman Aaron Bhatnagar’s primary focus will be on what people walk on when they are in the Hobson area, particularly in Parnell or Remuera.
Footpaths and roads are issues this Remuera based businessman will be addressing as he attends the first meeting of the Hobson Community Board as a member.
As a candidate for the Auckland Citizens Ratepayers Now Party (ACRN), Mr Bhatnagar drew the highest votes in Hobson.
“We were elected on a platform of issues and we plan to honour our election promises. We also propose to help small businesses and the Parnell Mainstreet Association,” he said.
He may be the son of one of New Zealand’s richest men but politics is not an interest he shares with his father Sir Roger Bhatnagar.
“My father enjoys the friendship of politicians and high profile sports personalities but he has no intention of playing the field when it comes to politics,” he said.
Sir Roger, whose name is synonymous with the giant whiteware and home appliances chain Noel Leeming is proud of his son and insists that Aaron is a self made businessman in his own right.
The new member of the Hobson Community Board runs his own property and general investment company called, ‘Bhatnagar, Browne Investments Ltd’ which he shares with a business partner and has never flinched to get his hands dirty.
"I watch him lift timber and bricks and I feel a lump in my throat,” Sir Roger said.
“I tell him there is no need for you to do that but he turns around and says to me ‘you did this sort of thing in your time, it doesn’t hurt if I do it too?’
The younger Bhatnagar holds masters with honours in Foreign Policy and while his election to the community board represents a step in the right direction, he is open to all kinds of possibilities.
His debut in politics was as campaign manager for ACT MP Rodney Hide. Sir Roger brought his New Zealander wife back home when his son was four years old.
Aaron and his sister Anita were born in Canada and the family lived in Hobson.
"I grew up in and around here so I know the neighbourhood well,” he said.
He enjoys the support of his family. His sister is in communications and while his mother runs her own gift shop in Parnell, Sir Roger takes life easy and is a passive investor.
When he was sixth former at St Kent’s, Aaron penned a letter to the editor of the New Zealand Herald to correct a story on F15 and F16 when the US bombedIraq, Sir Roger says.
“Aaron has always been fascinated by aircraft ships, military, combat and he possesses a very good memory.”

A HAMILTON taxi driver found guilty of attacking two of his customers after they racially abused him is to be sentenced on July 16. Reports from the Waikato said a Hamilton District Court jury found the driver guilty, but also asked the judge to be merciful in sentencing him.
ÒHamilton Taxis' driver Arthur Paras Mudaliar, 43, was convicted on one charge of assaulting Russell William Wood with a weapon, and one charge of injuring Brendon John Keith with intent to injure,Ó Waikato reports say.
ÒMudaliar sat throughout much of the trial with his hands clasped, pressed against his lips, as if in personal prayer. After the verdict was delivered, he joined his wife and Hamilton Taxis' manager at the back of the court room, and fought back the tears.Ó
His lawyer Sean Ellis said Mudaliar was "very disappointed" with the verdict. Judge Robert Wolff was reported to have told the jury to put aside feelings of sympathy and prejudice, even though "few complimentary" could be said about the two complainants, Wood and Keith.
ÒThey made "nasty, racial comments," and displayed "boorish, unacceptable behaviour," he said. According to the Hamilton paper Wood, a Hamilton welder, and Keith, a sales assistant from Tauranga, had caught Mudaliar's taxi home after a night of drinking, and called him a nigger and overstayer for taking a wrong turn home.
ÒThey refused to get out of his cab, threatened to "beat the crap out of him," and kicked the driver door and window, Mr Ellis told the court.
But after the verdict had been read, he asked the jury if they would like him to be merciful in sentencing, considering the circumstances.
The crown case disputed that Mudaliar acted in self defence, saying he had reacted out of anger and frustration to repay the insults dealt to him. The defence argued Mudaliar was making a citizen's arrest, and had the right to detain the men until the police arrived. Ò
Judge Wolff told the jury a reasonable amount of force was allowed in making a citizen's arrest, but Mudaliar had not made it clear to the men he was executing one.Ó

A LARGE gathering of sports enthusiasts were at Seaside Park in Otahuhu recently for the yearly International Sports Tournament organised by the Punjab Sikh Sports Club New Zealand.
Not only the sports fanatics turned out for the tournament but families and friends transformed the event into a family affair with teams from Australia and the United States providing a big drawcard.
The highlight of the tournament was the traditional Punjabi sport of “kabbadi”, weightlifting, volleyball, women’s and men’s tug of war, soccer and open races for the junior boys and girls.
Organisers must be congratulated for their efforts which drew large interest from the community.
The spectacular kabbadi team from the US stole the show and walked away with a $7,000 cash prize. Kabbadi Punjab style is a novelty to watch but for the many players the chanting that accompanies the game is exhilarating.
Not often seen in Auckland Kabbadi is almost a national sport that is enjoyed by Punjabis the world over. It has become an internationally contested game among teams from India, London, Canada and Australia.
Many came to watch big solid competitors do battle and wrestle their way through the traditional game.
Even the younger ones had their own kabbadi as well as sprinting competitions.
Food was supplied free to everyone and the Punjabi Sikh Sports Club New Zealand wish to thank the sponsors, supporters, individuals and teams from overseas for participating.

WELLINGTON restaurant owner Latchman Sami is appealing to have a rape count against him dropped after he was issued an eight-year jail term for raping one of his waitresses.
In his defence criminal lawyer Chris Harder claims his client was denied a fair retrial and has put forward a nine-page submission to have the rape count discharged.
Sentencing for the 43-year-old restaurant owner was delayed so that defence could present submissions to the Court of Appeal. Reports from Wellington said Mr Harder used a whiteboard to highlight discrepancies in the evidence given by the complainant.
This included evidence she gave at a separate depositions hearing a week after Sami was found guilty last November.
“You could not rely on this witness if she came into court and said that her hair was wet because it was raining outside,” Mr Harder said.
The discrepancies he highlighted included the complainant’s claim that she bled three days after the rape, for which there was no evidence, and the fact that she admitted to having sex with her boyfriend two days later.
She also claimed that after laying tablecoths on a floor at the restaurant Sami stripped in about two seconds before removing her jeans without her assistance.
The complainant said in a victim impact report that she could not imagine working in the restaurant after the rape but in fact she did return on the following Monday and she did work, Mr Harder said.
“She is a flip flop witness who can say whatever suits the moment.” After Judge Frater reportedly said she regarded some of Mr Harder’s points as fresh evidence, Mr Harder withdrew his application for discharge saying he would take the issue to the Court of Appeal. Judge Frater refused an application for bail pending an appeal.
She said the facts of the matter were not at issue.What was at issue was the matter of consent.
“You maintained that it was consensual. She (the complainant) maintained that she was taken unawares.”
Judge Frater gave Sami credit for not having previously appeared before a court, and for his considerable contribution to the Indian community and the Wellington business community.
On the other hand, he continued to deny the offence and had not displayed any remorse.
In the circumstances, eight years was an appropriate sentence, she said.

WEEKEND viewers of TV3 will have seen Rebecca Singh presenting the news on the hour.
TV3 news chief Mark Jennings says New Zealand has become very multiracial and hiring Rebecca reflected this diversity.
“She brings a lot of TV experience with her – but what attracted me was her brain,” Mr Jennings said.
“I have every confidence in the team that hires our presenters.”
Rebecca spent six years with Fiji TV covering almost all aspects of production from presenting, research, producing, directing to marketing and sales.
She was born in Nadi of an English mother and Indian father.
Now months into her new job Rebecca admits there were a few butterflies at first but she’s on the roll now.

THE public is fed up with being ripped off by illegal car traders and wants them dealt to!
That's the message coming through to the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association (IMVDA) which recently announced tough measures to collar people operating as vehicle dealers without licence.
IMVDA Chief Executive David Lynn says his phone has run hot with calls of support from people of diverse ethnic backgrounds - many dobbing in neighbours operating car sales businesses from their front yards or the street “A steady flow of people have complained of rip offs, others have provided details and photographs of regular road side traders," Mr Lynn says.
“Vehicle owners are easy to track down regardless of the number of names and mobile phone numbers they use."
Mr Lynn says the information has helped identify well-organised rings of illegal car traders operating around Auckland suburbs - and full details have been handed to Inland Revenue Department for action. Mr Lynn says illegal operators may be prosecuted for any unpaid taxes and unlicensed dealing.
“These people will find it just doesn't pay to rip off the public or the system especially where avoiding tax is concerned,” he says.
He says many callers are immigrants who are angry that sellers of the same ethnic origin are tarnishing the reputation of their people, while ripping off the community at large.
Some callers claimed to be unaware of the legal requirement to have a licence to sell vehicles for a profit.
“Some have been living in this country for a relatively short time and the IMVDA has been happy to provide them with information,” Mr Lynn says.
Meanwhile his advice to those looking to buy another vehicle is simply - visit a licensed car dealer. Avoid car fairs or roadside sellers.
“A licensed dealer has to protect consumers by law, so you're assured of guaranteed title,” he says.
“And you can still negotiate a good deal with mechanical warranty offers, finance and good value.
“A 'private' seller could be offering a cleverly repaired crash or flood damaged vehicle, os something that's been stolen or odometer rewound up to 100,000 kms.”
David Lynn says genuine private sellers are not breaking the law.

THE Government has formally launched the Office of Ethnic Affairs at a function in Wellington.
The Office was launched by the Prime Minister Helen Clark and Minister for Ethnic Affairs George Hawkins.
“By appointing a Minister for Ethnic Affaits and establishing a stand-alone government agency we have demonstrated a commitment to our growing ethnic communities,” the PM said.
She said the government had put significant resources into initiatives to help new migrants settle in NZ.
Of the funds allocated in the Budget is an $11.8million package to retrain overseas doctors and $674,000 for piloting support services to help migrants resettle.
“We are working to ensure opportunities exist for all New Zealanders whether they were born in this country of decided to make NZ their home,” Mr Hawkins said

you can contribute in this community news section as well. Just email the details