Malerkotla youth killed in Canada

A 22-year-old Sikh youth was allegedly killed with a sharp-edged weapon in downtown Edmonton parking at Alberta on Wednesday.

The victim, Jashandeep Singh Mann, had arrived in Canada as an international student eight months ago.

The Edmonton police have charged 40-year-old Edgar Whisker with second-degree murder. The police said the suspect remained at the scene after the incident. Jashandeep was a native of Badla village in Malerkotla.

The Edmonton police said the weapon used in the crime was believed to be a box cutter. They confirmed that both men were not known to one another and the incident seemed to be an isolated one.

Former sarpanch Bharpur Singh and his wife have demanded a probe by senior officials of the Canadian police into the sequence of events leading to the death of their son. “We just want to know what provoked the attacker — that he ruined our world by snatching Jashandeep from us,” said Bharpur Singh.

Residents, led by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee delegate Pritpal Kaur Badla, have urged the Centre and state governments to help expedite the repatriation of the body.

The villagers have also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take diplomatic measures to check crime against Indian youth settled in foreign countries.

Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh Boparai claimed to have taken up the issue with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. “Having learnt about the double whammy suffered by the family, I talked to the minister, who assured me that he would coordinate with authorities in Canada to get the process for repatriation of the body expedited,” said Boparai.