SAJAforum

FOLLOW UP: High-Flying American School of Aviation Grounded

We recently posted about the sudden shutting down of the flight school, American School of Aviation, based in Atwater, California, that left over 100 international enrolled students stranded and without a house. It turns out the students, many of whom are from India, had paid $40,000 upfront for the 10-month course.

Mainstream papers in the US haven’t covered this story, barring two articles in the Merced Sun-Star, one on June 20th when the school virtually went on sale and another one on 26th June before the students were evicted.

Lisa Tsering of India-West has covered the story in detail, including charges such as a lapsed insurance policy, the absence of a business license and eight violation charges levied against the school by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). An FBI investigation for fraud is currently underway.

The American School of Aviation, founded by Manpreet “Prince” Singh and his wife, Reny Kozman, ceased operations last week after months-long troubles that included a lawsuit for unpaid fuel bills, a state code violation for insufficient insurance, at least eight violations imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration and an unpaid utility bill leading to the eviction of the students from the former Air Force barracks where they’d been housed.

“I can’t do miracles,” Kozman told India-West by phone June 27. “We’re downsizing big-time. These kids have gotta grow up. I can’t solve everyone’s problems.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has started an inquiry into whether the school’s owners were committing fraud, a representative from the Merced County District Attorney’s office told India-West June 30.

“The owner of the school is here on a Green Card from India,” said Merced County Deputy District Attorney Walter Wall. “So it raises international issues.” A call to the FBI public relations officer in Sacramento was not returned by press time. <snip>

County officials grounded ASA’s flights in May because the school’s insurance policy had lapsed, and city officials accused the school of operating without a business license.

CRIME: Three years later, Geetha Angara's case still not solved

On Feb. 8, 2005, Geetha Angara, a 43-year-old mother of three, died in a horrible, widely covered case in Totowa, New Jersey. But three years later, a death that was treated as a homicide has still not been solved and the former lead investigator now says it wasn't a murder at all. From "3 Years Later, Her Family Waits for Answers," an in-depth report by Mark Mueller in the Newark Star-Ledger:

For three years, relatives of Geetha Angara have lived with the certainty that the Holmdel woman was a victim of murder, that someone seized her by the throat, choked her until she passed out and heaved her into an underground tank at her workplace, the Passaic Valley Water Commission.

That belief has come to define the relatives' lives, transforming them into activists who staged rallies demanding an arrest in the unsolved case. They will do so again today, holding a candlelight vigil billed as a "call for action."

But the former lead investigator on the case says he is convinced Angara's death, one of the state's more unusual murder mysteries, wasn't a murder at all.

"There's absolutely no question in my mind," said retired Lt. James Wood, who spent 18 months overseeing the probe as chief of homicide in the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office. "This is a horrible accident, but that's all it is -- a tragic accident."

Wood's opinion does not change the case's status -- it remains a homicide -- but it casts some doubt on the theory pursued by investigators since Angara's death on Feb. 8, 2005.

Authorities have said Angara, a 43-year-old chemist and mother of three, was attacked as she calibrated instruments on the lower level of the water commission's treatment plant in Totowa.

Investigators have said a co-worker, likely a man, choked Angara into unconsciousness, removed a metal plate from the floor and pushed her through the opening into a tank containing 1 million gallons of water, where she drowned.

Read the rest of the story. What do you think? Post your comments below.

FOLLOW UP: The Ghufran Haider Story's Happy Ending

One of my wife's many complaints about journalists is that we don't do enough follow-up stories. She says the press covers big, breaking news and don't bother to go back and see how those affected deal with what's been thrown at them. "We never learn how things turned out," she says. I have to agree, of course, and not just because I'd better agree with everything my wife says.

In the year-plus we have had SAJAforum, I think of at least three stories that really struck a chord and deserve follow-up:

• The story of Josh Singh, 13, and his brother Ankur, 12, two Long Island boys who came home one day from school to find their parents murdered.
• The story of Nimisha Tiwari, 32, a mother outside Chicago who set fire to her two young kids and herself in what the police are calling a double-murder and suicide.
• The story of Ghufran Haider, a man who threw himself on a suicide bomber in a Karachi mosque, saving hundreds of lives while being badly injured. Thanks to his testimony, two of the bomber's accomplices were given the death penalty, but because Haider got no police protection, he had to flee to Dubai. As of May, he faced a deportation deadline that would send him back to Pakistan, where he'd surely be killed.

There are several such stories that we have not followed up on and we will make an extra effort to do so in the months ahead. The Singh and Tiwari stories especially deserve our continued attention and we will do what we can (remember, we are always looking for more folks to join the SAJAforum team: saja[at]columbia.edu).

There is, however, news to report on the Ghufran Haider story, which was brought to our attention by the SAJA member who has worked for months to help save his life. In April and May 2007, documentary maker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy sent out alerts to her contacts to find asylum for Haider, who was about to be forced to return to Pakistan, where he faced certain death (read her two desperate pleas here). Many SAJA members and SAJAforum readers around the world sent it in good wishes, ideas and concrete suggestions to Obaid Chinoy, as did all sorts of other folks.

A few days ago, Obaid Chinoy sent around this e-mail:

Dear All,

I am writing to share some good news with you. With your help, Ghufran is now a free man, he has been granted asylum and is en route to North America.

I want to thank you for your help, without your support this would not have been possible.

All my best, Sharmeen

Obaid Chinoy, an award-winning filmmaker seen in this photo from her Aug. 2005 report, "Pakistan: In the Land of Conspiracy Theories, deserves great credit for her tireless efforts on behalf of Haider. Most others would have given up or gotten discouraged, but she kept putting pressure on various countries.

We caught up with her for three quick questions via e-mail. "It restored my faith in humanity," she says.  Take a look below and post your comments (we'll make sure she sees them). More on Obaid Chinoy's work at SharmeenObaidFilms.com.

THREE QUESTIONS FOR SHARMEEN OBAID CHINOY:

SAJAforum: How's Ghufran doing? Please pass on all our best wishes.
A: Ghufran is doing well, he is now in Canada, adjusting to life there...He is learning how to speak English and we are helping him get a job...He is also undergoing medical treatment for injuries sustained in Pakistan.

SAJAforum: What did you learn through this crisis?

FOLLOW UP: 7-Elevens Turn into Kwik-E-Marts

[UPDATE: July 19, 2007: See an update on the controversy]

We posted a piece in March about the new "Simpsons" movie and the tie-in that's turning 7-Eleven stores into  Kwik-E-Marts in honor of Apu, one of the stars of Springfield. Well, the makeovers of the stores have happened - complete with Apu nametags for clerks and giant Apu dolls.

Manish Vij at Ultrabrown.com has been covering the reaction - both good and bad - via several posts here, here, here. So when CNN went looking for someone to talk about the makeovers, they naturally turned to Vij. He was on CNN Tuesday night on "Paula Zahn Now" and you can watch the video here or see the YouTube version below.

FOLLOW UP: Taj Mahal Makes It To List of "7 New Wonders"

We wrote in March about a worldwide poll to select the "New 7 Wonders of the World." The Taj Mahal was among 21 sites in the running. While this contest made only minor waves in the US, when I  was in India, there was nonstop coverage about it and news channels were running items on their "crawls" several times a day asking viewers to vote via text message.

So with millions of Indians voting, when the announcement of the winners came out of 07.07.07, it was no surprise that the Taj made the list. See the list below (click to magnify) and at New7Wonders.com. Post your comments below.

EARLIER ON SAJAforum.org:

• HISTORY: Poll to decide 7 New Wonders of the World

FOLLOW UP: Police Now Say Pakistan Cricket Coach Was NOT Murdered

Back in March, we blogged about the mysterious death of Bob Woolmer, the British coach of the Pakistan cricket team (who happened to be born in India) during the Cricket World Cup. At that point, it was alleged that he had been strangled. But now, reports the BBC, among many, many others:

Jamaican police have confirmed that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer died of natural causes and was not murdered, as they stated earlier.

Mr Woolmer, 58, died after being found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on 18 March, following his team's loss to Ireland in the cricket World Cup.

An initial pathologist's report concluded that he had been strangled.

Every member of the Pakistan team was fingerprinted before returning home, sparking anger among many in Pakistan.

The NYT is carrying its story above the fold on NYTimes.com as of a few minutes ago. It adds details about the pathologist in Jamaica, who is being blamed for the original diagnosis, Dr. Ere Sheshiah, who is "a native of India."

Dr. Sheshiah, the government pathologist, had originally called Mr. Woolmer’s death “inconclusive.” But four days later, he ruled it a strangling and the government called a dramatic news conference to announce that the popular coach had been murdered.

But Dr. Nat Carey, a top British pathologist who was called in later to review the postmortem, came to a different conclusion, officials said. He disagreed with Dr. Sheshiah’s finding that a small bone found broken in Mr. Woolmer’s neck pointed to strangulation.

This was not the first brush with controversy for Dr. Sheshiah, a native of India who has worked in Jamaica for 12 years. In 2001, Amnesty International sent a Danish pathologist to observe Dr. Sheshiah’s autopsy of seven men who were killed by police in a highly celebrated case known as the Braeton Seven. Dr. Peter Leth was critical of the way Dr. Sheshiah did his autopsy and said it did not conform with international standards.

Dr. Sheshiah could not be reached for comment. But fellow members of the Jamaica Association of Clinical Pathologists were hesitant to criticize him without having seen the autopsy results themselves.

Reax? Know anything further? Post your comments below.

EARLIER ON SAJAFORUM:
Cricket World Cup...

• SPORTS: A murder mystery strikes the Cricket World Cup
• SPORTS: Today, "We Are All Sri Lankan"
• SPORTS: WSJ on Cricket World Cup