Singh

dissenting:

Singh’s testimony clearly conflicted with statements he made to an asylum officer. Specifically, there were conflicts regarding the details of each of Singh’s arrests, causing the IJ to question whether the arrests occurred at all. For example, there were discrepancies regarding when the first arrest occurred. Singh also gave conflicting reports regarding the time and place of his second arrest and whether he was walking or riding his scooter. Finally, Singh offered three different versions of when he was arrested the third time. In my view, such discrepancies are substantial and go to the heart of a claim of persecution. See Singh v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 1100, 1108 (9th Cir.2006) (“An inconsistency goes to the heart of a claim if it concerns events central to petitioner’s version of why he was persecuted and fled.”). Moreover, when viewed cumulatively, they “deprive [Singh’s] claim of the requisite ring of truth.” Rivera v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1271, 1275 (9th Cir.2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Because I contend we should uphold the adverse credibility finding, we would also consider Singh’s argument that the IJ improperly relied on statements made to the…

MEMORANDUM **

Gurpreet Singh, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a final deci *400 sion issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protection. We grant the petition and remand for further proceedings.

Singh sought to establish his eligibility for relief from removal by testifying he was persecuted and tortured in India because of his religion and political activities. Specifically, he testified he is a Sikh who was active in the Shiromani Akali Dal Mann — a political party in India. He contends that although he had only minor involvement with the party, he was nonetheless arrested, detained and tortured by local police on three separate occasions.

The IJ determined that Singh was not credible because of discrepancies between his testimony and statements he made to an asylum officer during his initial asylum interview. 1 First, the IJ found it material that Singh testified he was arrested approximately one and a half kilometers from his village, but told the asylum officer it was three kilometers. Second, the IJ noted Singh testified…