Week after he was shot dead in Canada, Ghaziabad man’s family still awaits his body

A 39-year-old man, identified as Richard Jonathan Edwin, was arrested in connection with Kartik’s murder and also of another man two days later, the Toronto police said on Tuesday

The family of the 21-year-old Indian student Kartik Vasudev, who was shot dead in Canada on April 7, has sought intervention of the Indian government in order to expedite the case against the suspect and also to seek justice for their son.

Kartik Vasudev was shot dead in Toronto, Canada on April 7. (Sourced)

A 39-year-old man, identified as Richard Jonathan Edwin, was arrested in connection with Kartik’s murder and also of another man two days later, the Toronto police said on Tuesday.

Kartik’s family members reside at Rajendra Nagar in Ghaziabad and are still waiting for his body. They said that they have been informed that the body will be flown on Friday and will arrive in Delhi on Saturday morning.

Kartik left India to pursue an MBA in international business on January 4 and joined a part-time job to finance his studies a fortnight before he was allegedly murdered during a shooting incident at Sherbourne subway station in Toronto.

“The government should take up the issue of getting justice for my son and should speak to the authorities in Canada. The Canadian embassy issued us a visa within hours on Monday. Now, I am looking up to the Indian government to intervene. When they can evacuate so many stranded Indians from foreign countries, they should take up the cause of my son as well. Had this been election time, my house would have been flooded with politicians by now,” said Pooja Vasudev, Kartik’s mother. who left her job with an MNC in Noida in March.

The family members said that Kartik used to be in touch with his mother over chats and would provide her with details of his daily routine ever since he landed in Canada three months back.

“I am waiting for my son’s body and he will get peace only when we perform the last rites. But he will get actual peace only when he gets justice and the strictest punishment is given to the suspect. My son was innocent and I lost him. I want the Canadian authorities to set an example and give the suspect harshest punishment so that no one dares to indulge in such crimes with innocent people in the future. We never allowed him to suffer a scratch but the Toronto police says that he sustained multiple gunshots. They do not have answers for the killing and the exact motive behind it,” Pooja said.

“I never wanted him to become famous in such a gruesome way. He had dreams and he wanted to make his own place. We cannot sleep now and every time we try to close our eyes, his face comes in front of us,” a crestfallen Pooja added.

The Toronto police on Tuesday held a press conference in which they claimed the arrest of the suspect, who is also charged with the murder of another 35-year-old man Elijah Eleazar Mahepath on April 9, while he was walking near George Street in the Canadian city.

The police said that the suspect fled afoot after committing the crime in both the cases.

“These 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 and investigations are underway,” the Toronto police said in a statement.

Chief of police James Ramer said during the press conference that the suspect was tracked to an address and was taken into custody. Several loaded firearms were recovered from him, he said.

Kartik’s father Jitesh, who is a senior project manager with an information technology (IT) company in Noida, said that the police made the arrest but they are yet to ascertain the motive behind the ghastly murder.

“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 even did not tell us how many gunshot wounds were found in my son’s body, but kept saying that there was multiple. They said that the suspect had no interaction with Kartik and directly fired at him. It seems an act of hate crime to me,” said Jitesh.

The family and relatives took up the matter with the local media in Toronto and also appeared on several news channels and also on radio to spread the word about the ghastly incident.

“The students from his college in Toronto also took out a candle march vigil on Sunday. The police said that they will take some more time to collect evidence and thereafter the case will go to the jury. I am planning to go to Toronto and I will ensure that I hire a lawyer to plead my son’s case. The Indian community in Canada is also supporting our cause. It is time that the Indian government intervenes so that my son gets justice at the earliest,” Jitesh added.

The family said that once the body is flown to Delhi on Saturday, they will bring it to Ghaziabad and will perform the last rites at Hindon cremation ground.

“Any death is tragic and these men (the two victims) were completely innocent and the murders were absolutely random acts of violence,” Toronto police said during Tuesday’s press conference.