The funeral rites of Management student Kartik Vasudev, who was shot dead outside the Toronto subway in Canada, were conducted today evening at 5 PM in Ghaziabad.
The body of the 21-year-old was received by his family at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, from where he was taken to his residence in Ghaziabad.
“His body was in Canada since April 7th, today it was handed over to us. We want justice for our child. He had gone to Canada for studies but could not return alive," said the deceased's uncle to ANI.
Jitesh Vasudev, the father of Indian student Kartik Vasudev, had told the Free Press Journal that he believed the attack against his son wasn’t a random act of violence but possibly a “hate crime” after Toronto Police announced the arrest of a 39-year-old man in connection with the crime.
“The angle being presented by the Toronto Police, that it’s a random attack, is not believable. It’s not normal that loaded ammunition has been recovered from the suspect’s home,” said Mr. Vasudev, who questioned why the suspect, Richard Jonathan Edwin , specifically killed his son and another brown individual.
The deceased Kartik Vasudev’s family will soon travel to Canada to take part in legal proceedings against the accused.
Kartik, who worked part-time at a Mexican restaurant in Toronto, was reported missing by his roommate to the police. The roommate also informed Kartik’s father about him not having reached work nor was he picking up his phone.
The family of the Ghaziabad resident learned about Kartik’s death around 11 am on April 8. They realised that he was the victim of a shooting incident after identifying his bag and shoes which were visible on a local news network’s report of the incident. The network did not name the 21-year-old, in its initial report.
Friends and family members remember Kartik as a kind-hearted person. “Kartik was someone who never got into a fight. He was kind-hearted and a down-to-earth person. He didn’t deserve to die like this,” said a friend of his to FPJ, who added that the latter moved to Canada for studies in January 2022.
