Ottawa: An Indian student from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly murdered brutally by a group of youths, including his own college mates in the city of Fort St John in Canada on March 14.
Gurkirat Singh Manocha (23) was assaulted and then run over with a vehicle, it has been alleged. He suffered critical injuries in the attack and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors later declared him dead, as reported by NDTV.
News of the murder has sent waves of grief through his family and the local community, with Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav expressing his condolences.
Manocha had travelled to Canada to pursue a postgraduate diploma in business management at the Northern Lights College.
His elder brother Prabkirat Singh said that the family came to know of the tragedy through a late-night phone call from one of Manocha’s friends in Canada.
The student worked part-time at a Walmart store, as many others do to support themselves, his family said.
He finished his shift on the night of the incident before some students from the college reportedly took him along with them. There seems to have been a pre-existing dispute among some of the youths, and Manocha got caught in the altercation that followed.
Several youths allegedly assaulted him after that before running him over with a vehicle. Around 10 to 12 youths were believed to be involved in the attack, Prabkirat said.
“The police had detained some suspects initially, but they were released later after their lawyers arrived,” he said.
The police are currently awaiting the post-mortem report, after which further legal action in the case is expected. Meanwhile, the process to bring the youth’s remains to India has also begun. The repatriation may take around three weeks due to legal formalities, the family said. They appealed to the government to help expedite the process.
“We just want him to come home as soon as possible so we can perform his last rites,” Prabkirat said.
Manocha’s father Gurjeet Singh runs a food supply business. He had completed his schooling at Carmel Convent School in Ujjain and later graduated from Vikram University.
Before leaving for Canada a little over a year ago, he often helped his father in their family’s business.
