Bal
Bal v. Ashcroft
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Bhupinder Singh Bal, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision summarily affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying Bal’s application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the IJ’s findings, see Lata v. INS, 204 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir.2000), and we deny the petition in part, and grant the petition in part.
Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s finding that Bal failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of an enumerated ground. See Abedini v. INS, 971 F.2d 188, 191-92 (9th Cir.1992). Bal failed to provide direct and specific evidence that would support a reasonable fear that he faces persecution based on his political or religious beliefs. He left India after an incident where he struck and killed a sacred cow with his tractor, but he was never arrested, detained, or harmed. See id. at 191 (stating that “the possibility of prosecution for an act deemed criminal in [a] society, which is made applicable to all people in that…