Task force set up to report on domestic violence within south-Asian community living in New York

Tribune News Service

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, August 8

New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar has announced setting up of a task force to investigate and report on domestic violence within the south-Asian-American community in the wake of the death by suicide of Mandeep Kaur, an Indian-origin woman resident of New York City.

Kaur ended her life on August 3, allegedly after suffering abuse from her husband for many years.

The task force will also focus on the unique needs of the south-Asian women in abusive situations, Rajkumar, the first south-Asian-American woman ever elected to a New York State Office, said in a press release on Sunday.

Rajkumar said, “I join with Mandeep Kaur’s family, friends, and the entire community in mourning the tragic suicide of the Richmond Hill resident at age 30.

“The video testimonial Kaur recorded days before her suicide tells a horrifying tale of eight years of physical and psychological abuse by her husband. Anyone who commits such morally depraved crimes must face the full consequences of our criminal justice system.

“I have already spoken with 102nd Precinct Commanding Officer Captain Jeremy Kivlin and he assured me that the NYPD is investigating the alarming accusations of domestic violence against Kaur.”

Rajkumar said her office is a sanctuary for women needing help, particularly immigrant women, and assured anyone suffering abuse that resources of the state were there for them.  

“You are not alone,” Rajkumar said, adding there was zero tolerance for violence against women in her district.

Rajkumar said she has “established a task force led by senior staffer Amrit Kaur to investigate and report on domestic violence within the south-Asian-American community, including the unique needs of south-Asian women in abusive situations.”

The task force will also provide any assistance needed to coordinate the parallel investigations by the NYPD and the police in Uttar Pradesh, Mandeep Kaur’s home before moving to America.

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