Singh

MEMORANDUM **

Charan Pal Singh, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) affirmance of the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a). We review the BIA’s decision for substantial evidence, Njuguna *785 v. Ashcroft, 374 F.3d 765, 769 (9th Cir.2004), and grant the petition.

The BIA assumed Singh was credible but found that he failed to show any event rising to the level of persecution. That finding, however, is not supported by substantial evidence. Singh’s beating in 1984 and his detention and beatings in 1985 were sufficiently severe to constitute persecution. See Ladha v. INS, 215 F.3d 889, 902 (9th Cir.2000) (holding that violence by non-governmental agents can qualify as persecution when the government is unwilling or unable to control it); Gafoor v. INS, 231 F.3d 645, 650 (9th Cir.2000) (finding persecution where applicant was assaulted, held captive for a week, and beaten until unconscious). Nothing in the record suggests that Singh had violated any law. “If there is no evidence of a legitimate prosecutorial purpose for a…