Houston: Indian documentary filmmaker Vijay Kumar, who's been detained in the US and was to appear in a Houstan court on Friday for his immigration bail hearing, has been denied bond and ordered voluntary departure within 90 days.
Kumar, a Mumbai resident was held at Houston International airport last week for allegedly carrying brass knuckles and jihadi literature in his luggage. He faces a jail term of up to 10 years if convicted.
Lawyers of Indian documentary filmmaker Vijay Kumar, who is in US custody, say they were in dark about why he remains locked up despite getting bail last week, as his supporters expressed concern that he might remain stuck up in the bureaucratic legal system.
Kumar's immigration bail hearing is schedule here on Friday and the authorities are tight lipped about the case.
Kumar's bail hearing got delayed earlier, as a result of which his criminal case hearing, which was scheduled last Friday, got pushed tentatively to September 8. However, the lawyers are pinning all hope on this Friday’s hearing.
They are, however, still in dark about why their client remains locked up, despite getting bail last week. Sources say such hearings are delayed indefinitely when immigration officials have custody of someone.
His attorneys say Kumar's visa is being revoked, and they are getting no answers from US immigration officials as to why Kumar remains in federal custody.
Kumar, 40, a resident of Malad in Mumbai, was detained at Houston International airport for allegedly carrying brass knuckles and jihadist literature in his luggage and is now in federal custody since last week. Kumar could get a jail term of up to 10 years if convicted.
His supporters fear he will be charged with federal crimes for remaining in the US without a visa, even though he had valid travel papers up until the time of his arrest.
"In Texas and other US border states, when the Department of Homeland Security and its Customs & Border Protection establishment arrest someone, they tend to operate in secrecy and those in custody rarely are afforded the rights that US citizens have when they're arrested," a source said, preferring anonymity.
The way this case is being shuttled between two agencies – immigration and the local law enforcement team is typical of the bureaucratic legal system that often delays such cases leaving the state of victims in limbo.
"Vijay Kumar was released from jail on August 24, but I have no idea why immigration authorities have detained him. Immigration comes under the federal agencies and not the district," said Assistant District Attorney Donna Hawkins.
Roger Jain, who is Kumar's lawyer in the immigration case, was not available for comment all day.
It was learnt through sources that as of late Wednesday, Kumar was brought down to inmate processing centre, where detainees are being transferred.
From here he is being shifted back to the immigration holding place so he can appear on time for the hearing, failing which it can be deferred indefinitely.
Some people have been held up in Houston immigration detention facilities for up to 4 years without facing a trial or any conclusive movement in their deportation process.
After Kumar was released on August 24 on bail, Immigration and Customs Enforcement revoked Kumar's visa.
Because he had neither a passport nor a visa, he was taken into federal custody, his attorney Grant Scheiner said. "If they don't grant him bail, then he's going to continue in this state of limbo," Scheiner said.
If Kumar makes bail, he can fight the state charge to get his passport back, Scheiner adds. According to Indian Consul General in Houston Sanjiv Arora, "CGI continues to remain actively engaged in the matter, to provide necessary consular assistance to Kumar and to satisfy itself that the case is handled expeditiously," Arora said.
An officer of the consulate was allowed to see Kumar on Thursday, although that too was an uphill task. However, the officer said Kumar was in good health and just waiting eagerly for the hearing on Friday.
Comments
0 comment