A high-speed chase down Highway 101 in South San Francisco ended with police killing a man believed to have beaten his spouse. It all took place last week when Kamal Lal punched his wife Shelly in the face following a dispute over a pile of trash. Shelly called 911, and Kamal fled from the scene in his truck. When authorities tracked him down, Kamal led them on a chase at speeds as high as 100 mph. His car eventually ran off the road and into a ditch. Kamal emerged from it and began throwing rocks at CHP officers. When he threatened them with a concrete slab, they pumped him full of bullets. Court records show that Kamal had a history of domestic abuse, and had plead guilty to misdemeanor battery against his wife in 1996. Like many battered spouses, Shelly defended her husband of 16 years:

“Everyone has their problems, but where this went, it totally doesn’t make sense,” said Lal, 37, of her husband. “I’m just mad that he was killed in such a barbaric way”…Lal described her husband as a warm, generous man who loved playing with his son and often bought homeless people meals. She said their relationship was strong enough, she thought, to withstand Sunday’s domestic violence. “It just seemed like a little dispute between husband and wife,” Lal said. [San Francisco Chronicle]

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘It doesn’t make sense,’ says wife of man shot by CHP, Man killed by CHP had battery record

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My initial reaction was, “you have GOT to be kidding me.”

An Indian Muslim charity has laid claim to the ownership of the world’s most famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal.

The Sunni Waqf Board controls all Muslim graveyards in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the spectacular marble monument is located.

Since Muslims who AREN’T royals are buried at the Taj AND it contains a Mosque, the Sunni Waqf Board has a reason to pursue this obviously innocent and well-intentioned claim.

Whom can we blame for this latest bit of eye-roll-inspiring controversy? Wait for it…

The Sunni Waqf Board (SWB), a Muslim trust, was given ownership of Uttar Pradesh’s Muslim graveyards by the Indian government itself.

Right.

There wouldn’t be some financial motivation for this surprising development, would there? Noooo. Couldn’t be.

Mr Usman said once the ownership issue had been decided, the board would demand that 7% of the total earnings from tickets should be transferred to its coffers.

Here’s my favorite part:

He said the board did not stake a claim to the monument earlier as it had not wanted to enter into any controversy.

They were correct! There is no controversy at all. My ocular muscles (and my potential for disbelief) are taxed. Oh, Shah Jahan…what has your legendary love wrought? Continue reading →

Burglars in Silicon Valley have been targeting desi homes recently, perhaps through property records or personal contacts (thanks, Sonya). If they were truly smart, they’d be looking for the stock options, not yo mama’s mangalasutra:

Of the 50 home burglaries that have occurred in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the last couple of months, 10 have happened in the homes of Indian Americans… [India-West]

Since December, the homes of at least 14 Indo-American families have been burglarized on weekend nights in Silicon Valley. The families fear they are being targeted because of their preference for 22- and 24-karat gold jewelry… “It looks like they know where to look. There are some subcultures in India where it’s pretty common to hide jewelry in the kitchen, and these burglars are also looking in kitchens…”

… they said they wanted to speak out to alert other families — and to tell them to store their jewelry and other valuables in safe-deposit boxes instead of at home. [Mercury News]

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A 52-year-old father from Guyana was beaten by an 18-year-old from Mexico on March 3 and died of a heart attack. Jagat Ram Balram of Queens was a marine engineer in his homeland:

A police source said Roque downed a number of drinks in a friend’s home, then hit the streets of Richmond Hill, confronting residents. After several confrontations, including one with a man who wouldn’t back down, Roque pounced on Balram, who was heading home from his job as a bus mechanic just before 1 a.m., police said.

The 120-pound Roque knocked the victim, who at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds towered over the suspect, to the snow-covered ground in front of Balram’s Jamaica Avenue home, then kicked him into unconsciousness, police said… Roque, who emigrated from Mexico… attends Richmond Hill High School and works as a busboy at nearby Alfies Pizza & Pasta. [MSNBC]

Two witnesses dialed 911 and ran to help Jagat Balram while another good Samaritan chased the fleeing suspect to Jamaica Ave. and 118th St. and flagged down a patrol car… Jagat Balram’s hard-earned savings will now be used to send his body back to South America, instead of bringing his 25-year-old son, Chateran, to New York.  [Daily News]

Keri Dowd, a history teacher at Richmond Hill HS, said Roque had a reputation as having “a discipline problem,” and said a fellow teacher — who had him in her class — said he was “disturbed, violent and aggressive.” [NY Post]

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