Chhokar

MEMORANDUM **

Iqval Singh Chhokar, 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 requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

I. Asylum, Claim,

Substantial evidence does not support the BIA’s conclusion that Chhokar was not persecuted on account of a protected ground. The beatings Chhokar sustained during his second and third arrests *321 by the police rise to the level of persecution. See Chand v. INS, 222 F.3d 1066, 1073-74 (9th Cir.2000); Singh v. Ilchert, 69 F.3d 375, 377-79 (9th Cir.1995). The police initially detained Chhokar on both occasions because they believed he had assisted criminals attempting to flee the area. The evidence demonstrates, however, that they severely abused him during that detention because of his political beliefs. Chhokar testified, for example, that the officers beat and tortured him while taunting him about his political beliefs: ‘You’re not going to get Khalistan. We even beat you like this and then you can go up there and make Khalistan up there.” Given that the authorities never…