Ranbeer Singh v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Ranbeer Singh, a 24-year old native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) dismissal of his appeal of the denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . “We review the denial of asylum or withholding of removal for substantial evidence.” Singh v. Holder, 764 F.3d 1153, 1159 (9th Cir.2014). We GRANT the petition and REMAND for further proceedings.

Substantial evidence does not support the BIA’s determination that Singh failed to establish a nexus between the harm he suffered and the protected ground of political opinion. To the contrary, the record compels the conclusion that the police arrested Singh because of his association with his father and a friend and that the police imputed their alleged political beliefs to Singh.

Singh testified that when he was 14 years old, he was arrested from his home and taken to a police station. He was detained for three nights and questioned about his friend, Saad Khan, who the police alleged was associated with Maoists. Singh told the police that he had done…