Yerushalmi Bachur Imprisoned In India - sounds fishy

Silver Member Joined: Feb 23 2010 Posts: 706

From YWN:
Yerushalmi Bachur Imprisioned In India
(Tuesday, October 25th, 2011)
While the tzibur is just beginning to recover from the bochrim in Japan incident, which all continue davening will end soon and end well, there is now a story of a Yerushalmi bachur involved with drugs and imprisoned in India.

The bachur is from a respected Yerushalayim family, deciding before his chasnah that he had to fly to India. While he was there, he was in the home of the Shaliach Rav Gavriel Holtzberg HY�D, actually becoming a �ben bayis� in the Chabad house. One night, while there, police came into an apartment he was visiting. They searched the room and found he was in possession of drugs.

A number of friends who were with him in the apartment managed to flee from police while some were arrested, including the bachur.

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The young man, the bachur, insists he does not speak the local language and was unable to communicate with police. He denies any involvement in drugs, insisting he is innocent. He feels that his inability to communicate worked against him, and he was arrested and his trail simply vanished.

Rav Gavriel reportedly tried to find him, but he was unsuccessful. The young man simply vanished.

A few short weeks before the Mumbai massacre a friend of the bachur told Rav Gavriel that the bachur was incarcerated. Rav Nachman Holtzberg, Gavriel�s father, was visiting at the time, and he heard of the young man�s plight and incarceration under harsh conditions.

The shaliach updated the family of the young man in Yerushalayim, who apparently was clueless as to his whereabouts and disposition. The young man�s father, a noted talmid chacham, was niftar a number of days after hearing the news. He had a massive heart attack R�L.

The family of the kallah and the bachur�s family teamed together to see what could be done. They learned the young man was being held in one of the harshest prsins in India, far from civilization. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, apparently because he lacked any legal representation.

For Rav Nachman Holtzberg, the story of the young man was forgotten due to the family�s tragedy resulting from the terror attack against the Chabad house in Mumbai. A number of weeks ago however, while learning in a Crown Heights beis medrash, he noticed a yid learning daf yomi by phone. When he hung up the phone, the young man told R� Nachman that he learns daf yomi with a young chosson imprisoned in India. Once in a while he manages to connect with him and they learn, seeking to assist the pour soul.

R� Nachman immediately remembered the situation a few weeks before the attack, the young man, and decided to take upon himself to do what he could to assist the young man.
Since that time, R� Holtzberg enlisted the assistance of a number of askanim in the USA � including the Dror Organization, who are now probing what legal assistance can be offered to the young man. Three attorneys have been hired and an appeal has been filed in India.

R� Holtzberg seems to indicate that just the fact that the appeal was accepted is a big thing, especially since the sentencing judge is no longer serving on the bench. Therefore there is hope that the appeal may result in the young man�s release and return to Eretz Yisrael.

The family in Yerushalayim lacks the ability to offer any assistance, living a meager existence from a gashmiyus perspective. Anyone wishing to donate, may do so by clicking HERE please add in Inmate Account # 684324 - or by phone 718-280-1510.

Am I the only one thinking that there is something weird with this story??

Like this person answered:

Posted: Wed, Oct 26 2011, 5:56 am Post subject: re: Anyone heard about it?!

Sounds very strange. Wouldn't his family be approaching rabbonim in EY to get them to reach out to find/help him? And yes, what about the kallah and her family too? The being imprisoned in India etc. does not sound strange but the fact that this wasn't publicized in all this time is very weird and gives the story less credibility!

If there is a wrongly accused bochur in an Indian prison then I hope he gets help and cleared of the charges.

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 12 2010 Posts: 5882

Yeh dh showed this to me last night...seems totally wierd to me. too many details missing!
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Silver Member Joined: Nov 04 2010 Posts: 914

Seems to me like some inmate in India is getting rich off this.

Ever got emails telling you to deposit $1000 and you'll get back $2 million? Sounds pretty similar to me.

My only question is why Yeshiva World printed this.

ETA: I see now that there is no link to the original article in YWN. Anyone have that?

Silver Member Joined: Nov 07 2010 Age: 33 Posts: 824

The family in Yerushalayim lacks the ability to offer any assistance, living a meager existence from a gashmiyus perspective.

why would someone whose family have no money go to india? weddings cost a lot,why waste money on india of all places.

Silver Member Joined: Feb 23 2010 Posts: 706

Posted: Thu, Oct 27 2011, 4:17 am Post subject: re: Anyone heard about it?!

"insists he does not speak the local language and was unable to communicate with police"

This is totally balony, as Indian judicial system works in English.

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18393

You think most bochurim from Yerushalayim know English?
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Posted: Thu, Oct 27 2011, 9:11 am Post subject: re: Anyone heard about it?!

my personal opinion is that the article is not news but is really a paid ad by drorfree.org.

Do you know if Drorfree is a legit organization? Go look at their donation page and you will see that they are accepting credit card info on a NON secure connection.

(edited to remove info I would rather not be responsible for spreading)

seriously Yael? wow, that is crazy and horrible if that is true!!!!

the address listed for drorfree is the same address as is listed on this ad in a lkwd paper found online. here:
http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/the-lakewood-shopper/issue32onlineb/2011092801/88.html#88

in the ad it states that they are raising funds to build a mikvah, saying there is no mikvah in tokyo. the ad is dated oct.1, 2011
in the Ami article listed here: http://drorfree.org/PDF/28-29_AMI035.OpEd.pdf
at the very beginning it says in 2008 chabad opened a mikvah in tokyo in additon to other things.

I called their
24 Hour Emergency Hotline
855-DROR-911 , 855-3767-911

and got a message saying the person you are trying to reach is not available, try again later

I would like to be told that this site is legit. if you can convince me please do so.

3000 jews in tokyo who want to use a mikva? Apart from the 40 torah observant families? Tokyo sounds like the next boro park.

Executive Member Joined: Jan 04 2011 Posts: 361

On their "about us" page they list the following Rabbis:

Rabbi Efraim Stein

Rabbi Chaim Hersh Fruend

Rabbi Amrom Israel

Rabbi Yoel Ashur Labin, Menahel

Rabbi Yidel Tabak

Anyone knows anything about these Rabbanim?

Executive Member Joined: Jan 04 2011 Posts: 361

They have a 718 number listed as well 1718-280-1510. I called and asked a bit about the org. Secretary listed the names of the rabbanim I posted earlier. I asked her if she would know where they are located, she seemed to think in Boro Park or Williamsburg, but didn't know any more info.

Anyone recognize these names of Rabbanim?

Last edited by kitov on Thu, Oct 27 2011, 12:39 pm; edited 1 time in total

Executive Member Joined: Jan 04 2011 Posts: 361

Executive Member Joined: Jan 04 2011 Posts: 361

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18393