News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Community News India Times (May 9, 2026 - May 15, 2026) May 15, 2026 9 A n Indian national was sentenced on April 21, 2026 to 41 months of imprisonment for his role as the leader of a conspiracy to defraud various telephone providers and insurance companies out of millions of dollars. He used stolen or fake identi- ties to submit fraudulent claims for replacement cellular devices and then reselling those devices outside the United States, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Robert Frazer announced April 27. Dhananjay Singh, 35, an Indian national, previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an Information charging him with one count of con- spiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspira- cy to commit interstate transfer of stolen property. In addition to the 41 month prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Singh to 3 years of supervised release and ordered restitution of over $10 million dollars. According to documents filed in this case and state- ments made in court: From June 2013 through June 2019, Singh was involved in a widespread scheme to defraud cellular telephone providers and insurance companies using the U.S. mail system, as well as other third-party mail carriers. Singh and his co-conspirators used stolen and fake identities to submit false claims for lost, stolen or dam- aged cellular telephones, as well as other devices, in order to obtain replacement devices. They maintained a network of mailboxes and storage units across the United States, including in New Jersey, where the replacement devices would be shipped and then held before being sold to third parties outside the United States. The scheme resulted in millions of dollars of losses to the cellular telephone providers and insur- ance companies, the press release said. By a StaffWriter Indian National Sentenced to 41 Months’ For Defrauding Telephone Providers, Insurance Companies M ore than 75 students, scholars, educators, and community members came together for De- mystifying Hinduism: Clarity Through Scholar- ship, a seminar organized at Rutgers University, by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) and the Rutgers chapter of its youth wing CYAN (CoHNA Youth Action Network), in partnership with the Rutgers Hindu Students Council (HSC) and the univer- sity’s Hindu Chaplaincy. The conference held on April 30, 2026, and featured distinguished academics, a press release from organizers said. “The invigorating presentations, the pointed ques- tions, the energetic panel discussion, the food, and the enthusiasm of my fellow students, all made for a memo- rable day,” said Dhyey Ray, president of CYAN Rutgers and a senior in Biomedical Engineering. “I came away energized by the passion of the panelists and attendees, and with so much clarity on how to understand my faith and use it to guide important questions in life as I get ready to graduate.” Professor of Indian History and Religions at Shaw- nee State University Dr. Lavanya Vemsani, examined how the stories of prominent Hindu women have been presented in contemporary academic texts, media and popular culture. The talk explored what Vemsani sees as sexual objectification in the portrayal of several power- ful and well-known figures from Savitri, Urvashi, and Ganga to Satyavati, Kunti, and Draupadi. She saw these “distortions” as having a wide-ranging impact, especially on young Hindus and their understanding of their own history. Dr. Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Indian Philosophies at Elizabethtown College and a widely published scholar on Hinduism, traced the history of Dharmic influences in theWest. Drawing on the likes of George Harrison, Julia Roberts, and J.D. Salinger, as well as M*A*S*H and Star Wars, Prof. Long aimed to show Hindu thought has left its mark on some of the most beloved cultural touchstones of theWest. The seminar also featured an informative session with Neil Desai, a high school history teacher, on what he saw as Hinduphobia manifesting itself in academic settings over the years. The event closed with a student-moderated panel discussion covering a wide range of questions — from historical research to textual representation of Hinduism to issues directly impacting Hindu students on campus like the persistence of tropes around caste, atheism, plu- ralism in Hindu Dharma, misogyny, and menstruation. “For over a year, the CYAN and HSC teams on campus have been working hard to create an authentic space where scholars and students could discuss and debate the Hindu faith,” said Shyam Kumar, a junior majoring in Political Science at Rutgers and vice president of CYAN. “I was thrilled to see the results at Demystifying Hinduism, where we created a unique and refreshing counterpoint to the discourse we normally hear about Hinduism.” By a StaffWriter Scholars And Students Gather For Academic Discussion On Hinduism At Rutgers PHOTOS:ORGANIZERS A section of the audience at a discussion of Hinduphobia at the March 30 conference at Rutgers University. Organizers and participants at the Hinduism and Hinduphobia conference held in Rutgers University March 30, 2026.