Indiana, Feb. 20, 2004
Three men, Piara Singh, 30, Baljit Singh, 22, and Bhupinder
Singh, 43, were arrested on Feb 9, were charged Wednesday with rape
and criminal confinement of a 23-year-old Mishawaka woman. .The three
men were released by the court after they posted a bond of $3,000 each.
They are scheduled to return to court on Feb 26.
The three men were produced before St. Joseph Superior
Court Magistrate Brian Steinke on Feb 12, where they entered preliminary
innocent pleas. Piara Singh and Baljit Singh face additional charges
of criminal deviate conduct.
Singh was allegedly inside his Yellow Cab Co. van at
Hickory Village Apartments on Feb. 8 when a Mishawaka woman asked him
if she could use his phone. The men, identified as Piara Singh and Baljit
Singh, took her to an apartment, called the third accused, and allegedly
raped her. According to the woman, she was taken to another apartment
and managed to escape when one of the three who was guarding her passed
out from drinking.
Singh, 30, of the 4500 block of Hickory Road, has until
the end of the day Monday to appeal the revocation, said South Bend
City Attorney Chuck Leone. According to city records, Singh has been
a licensed driver for Yellow Cab since 2002. His license was renewed
in June 2003, and it would have been up for renewal in June.On Thursday,
after a week of pressure by other cabdrivers, the city of South Bend
revoked Piara Singh's taxi cab license.According to a South Bend ordinance,
the city has the right to revoke a license if the driver poses an "immediate
and serious threat to the health and safety of the public," Leone
said.