A 24-year-old Indian student working as a food delivery partner was killed in Canada's Mississauga city after he was assaulted by unidentified suspects in an attempt to steal his vehicle, PTI reported citing media reports. The incident occurred on July 9 in Mississauga's Britannia and Creditview roads.
According to reports, the deceased student, identified as Gurvinder Nath, was 'violently assaulted' by multiple suspects and was left critically injured and his vehicle was stolen. Witnesses came to his aid and Nath was rushed to a trauma centre. He was pronounced dead on July 14.
"Investigators do believe that there are multiple suspects involved and that the food order was placed as a means of luring the driver to this specific area," said Inspector Phil King of Peel Regional Police’s Homicide Bureau. An audio recording of the pizza order placed before the attack has been obtained, he confirmed.
More than 200 people gathered in Mississauga for a candlelight vigil in honour of Gurvinder on Saturday. The 24-year-old reportedly arrived in Canada in 2o21 with plans to start his own business.
Hours after the incident, Gurvinder's vehicle was found abandoned on Old Creditview and Old Derry roads less than 5 km from the site of the assault. King said that it might have been abandoned early due to unanticipated injuries to the victim, and that several pieces of evidence have been recovered from the vehicle .
So far, no connection has been established between Gurvinder and his attackers. His body will be flown to India on July 27 with the help of the Consulate General of India in Canada.
Gurvinder's family said that he was on a summer break before resuming his final semester of business school. "He was innocent, he was just delivering pizza [when] random people hit him on his head," said his cousin Balram Krishan.
Siddhartha Nath, Consul General of India in Toronto, called Gurvinder's death a "heartrending loss' and extended his condolences to the victim's kin.
"It was heartening for me to see how the community responded, came together both online and physically to support the family in this time of grief. Of course, nothing can make good the loss, but it will be some solace to the grieving family and it's also a signal of the spirit of the community because it is in times like this when the spirit and the solidarity and the sense of empathy is tested," he said.
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