US TO NAME POST OFFICE AFTER SLAIN SIKH COP

Washington, Dec. 5: The US Senate has unanimously passed a legislation to name a post office in Houston after slain Sikh police officer Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was gunned down in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop a year ago.

The US House of Representatives had passed the bipartisan legislation in September to rename the post office at 315 Addicks Howell Road in Houston as “Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office Building.” The bill is now headed to the White House for it to sign into law by outgoing President Donald Trump. The post office named after Dhaliwal in Houston is only the second American post office named after an Indian American. The first one was named after the first Indian American Congressman Dalip Singh Saund in Southern California in 2006.

The Senate also passed the bills to rename another US Postal Office located in Castroville, Texas as the “Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan Post Office.” “The US Postal Office on Addicks Howell Road in Houston will now serve as a lasting tribute to Deputy Dhaliwal's trailblazing legacy for Sikh Americans and religious minorities in law enforcement, while the Post Office in Castroville will serve as a memorial to Lance Corporal Rairdan and his fellow soldiers who fell in the line of duty,” Senator Red Cruz said.

“While we tragically lost both outstanding Americans far too soon, their memory will live on as we honour their many contributions to their country and community. I look forward to seeing President Trump swiftly sign these measures into law,” Cruz said.