Body of Gzb student who was shot dead in Toronto set to arrive today
The parents of 21-year-old MBA student Kartik Vasudev, who was shot dead in Canada last week, said that his body will be flown to Delhi from Toronto on Saturday and added that his last rites will be performed at the Hindon cremation ground in the evening.
Kartik left India on January 4, to pursue an MBA course in international marketing. He was shot dead by a gunman during a shooting incident at Sherbourne subway station in Toronto on April 7.
Kartik’s family in Sahibabad said that they are eagerly waiting for his body. The Toronto police on Tuesday said that they have arrested suspect Richard Jonathan Edwin, (39), in connection with the murder. Incidentally,
the suspect allegedly shot dead another man in a similar manner on April 9.
“The body of my son will be finally flown to Delhi on Saturday. We expect the formalities will be completed in a couple of hours. His last rites will be performed at the Hindon cremation ground here on Saturday evening,” said Jitesh Vasudev, Kartik’s father. He said that the family has also been allotted a government counsel to take up their case against the suspect.
“The government counsel also contacted us and told us that once the jury takes over, a strong case will be made against the suspect. He said that there is ample evidence against the suspect and even eye-witnesses. Once we get the dates of the case, I will fly to Canada,” Vasudev added.
On the day of the incident, Kartik was on his way to a restaurant, where he got himself a part-time job. The suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at him and fled. The Toronto police made a press briefing earlier this week and said that the suspect fled afoot after committing both the crimes.
“Both the murders are believed to be random attacks and the victims were not known to the accused or each other. Investigators are working to establish the motive behind the attacks,” the Toronto police said on Tuesday.
Kartik’s father is a senior project manager with an information technology (IT) company in Noida, while his mother left her job with an MNC in Noida in March. The family said that they had also taken a loan to send their son to Toronto for pursuing his higher studies.
“They have not told us the motive as yet and they said it could be random; but we don’t think it could be random and it seems to be a hate crime or an act of racism. They did not even tell us how many gunshot wounds were found in my son’s body, but kept saying that there were multiple. It seems an act of hate crime to me,” said Jitesh.
Earlier this week, Kartik’s family and relatives took up the matter with the local media in Toronto and also appeared on several news channels and on radio to spread the word about the ghastly incident.
The counsel said there is ample evidence against the suspect. Once we get the dates of the case, I will be flying to Canada. JITESH VASUDEV,
Kartik’s father