‘Leniency for Harjinder’: Nearly 2.5 million sign petitions as Indian trucker faces up to 45 years in Florida crash

Indian trucker Harjinder Singh, facing the prospect of a 45-year prison sentence for allegedly causing a fatal crash in the U.S., has become the center of a growing social media storm. His family and others of the Punjabi community are rallying online, urging leniency in his punishment.

A petition backing Singh, who was in the United States illegally, has been launched by Manisha Kaushal under the banner of “Collective Punjabi Youth.” As of Sunday afternoon, the petition had attracted close to 2.5 million signatures. Directed at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, it urges both him and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency to take another look at the case involving the 28-year-old. It argues that Singh had neither criminal intent nor a prior record, stressing that the tragic crash where three lives were lost after he made a wrong U-turn was a catastrophe, not a crime.

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The petition by “Collective Punjabi Youth” is not alone. Several others have appeared on Change.org in recent days, reflecting the groundswell of support around Singh’s case. The most prominent one, “Advocate for leniency in Harjinder Singh’s sentencing,” launched on August 21, has already crossed 73,800 signatures. Smaller petitions have also gained traction, one calling for a sentence reduction, “Reduce Harjinder Singh’s 45-year sentence,” has over 2,300 supporters, another seeking commutation has drawn more than 1,600, while two additional campaigns have gathered close to 500 and 75 backers, respectively.

Singh, a 28-year-old truck driver from India, made a wrong U-turn on a Florida highway, resulting in the deaths of three people. After fleeing the scene, he was later apprehended and returned to Florida to face charges.

During a court hearing on August 23, St. Lucie County Judge Lauren Sweet denied him bond, citing Singh as an “unauthorized alien” and a “substantial flight risk.” The judge also found probable cause for all six charges, classifying them as forcible felonies under Florida law. Singh faces three state charges of vehicular homicide along with immigration-related violations, and bond has been denied for all counts. He is currently being held at the St. Lucie County Jail, according to Lt. Andrew Bolonka of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also placed a hold on him, as per Associated Press.

Meanwhile, an Indian parliamentarian and former federal minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, has urged the Indian government to ensure that Singh is not prosecuted as a murderer. Emphasizing that the crash was a tragic mistake, Badal, who represents the Sikh party Shiromani Akali Dal, said any penalty should reflect it as an accident, not an act of intent. She also called for Singh’s religious rights, including wearing his Sikh turban, to be fully respected.

“Also more than 1.5 lakh [150,000] Punjabi truck drivers in the US should not be discriminated against due to Harjinder’s mistake and their livelihood should not be snatched from them by denying them work visas and making it more difficult for them to drive trucks by bringing in new language proficiency rules,” Harsimrat added on a social media post.

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A cabinet minister in the Punjab state government, Sanjeev Arora, has also stepped in, writing to the Indian government to seek intervention over the freezing of work visas for foreign truck drivers, many of them from Punjab. In his letter, Arora warned that the U.S. decision taken in the aftermath of the Florida highway crash involving a Punjabi-origin driver has placed the livelihoods of nearly 150,000 Punjabi drivers at risk, as per Mint report.

“He is only 28, it was his bad luck,” said the family and the Rataul village of Singh, in Punjab, quoted by Mint.  “The family is in shock,” said Dilbagh Singh, one of Singh’s relatives.  “We are also saddened over the death of three persons in the accident. Similar incidents have taken place earlier as well,” Dilbagh stated reporters in Tarn Taran district, Punjab, India.

Pointing to Singh’s young age, he said, “His age is 28 years, and if he gets 45 years of jail, then you can imagine what will be the condition of his family.” He urged Sikh organizations to step forward and extend support to Harjinder.

Dilbagh recalled that Singh had moved to the U.S. in 2018 after mortgaging his land. Back home, his elder brother Tejinder Singh lives with their mother in Tarn Taran, where the family depends on farming following their father’s passing.

As per report, in Harjinder’s native village of Rataul, residents described him as hardworking and urged that he not face an excessively harsh sentence despite the mistake. Village sarpanch Jashandeep Singh also voiced support for the family, appealing to U.S. authorities for compassion. Another villager pointed out that Harjinder had no intention of causing harm, stressing that accidents are an unfortunate reality. While admitting the U-turn was a mistake, he said it should not lead to a punishment so severe that it destroys Harjinder’s entire life.

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While these people have come forward in the support of the accused immigrant truck driver, several users on the internet have criticized this move. One of them was veteran journalist Vir Sanghvi who criticized this move and stated, “With great respect: no. If you choose to go & live in another country you must abide by that country’s laws & not end up killing its citizens. If you are prosecuted in your new home then you must defend yourself & not expect the Indian govt to intervene on your behalf” on X.