Identification of Indian migrant family found dead near Canada-US border pending: officials
Toronto (PTI): The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as the circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.
Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
Police say the deceased believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent were trying to cross into the US from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.
Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent including a man holding his two children's passports who were among eight bodies recovered from the St. Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.
The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.
"The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated," the paper added.
On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they also believed was a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified, the CBC reported.
Police found the bodies of five adults and one infant in the marshland on Friday. Another infant and an adult woman were located later. One of the children was a Canadian citizen. The deceased is believed to be of Indian and Romanian descent.
Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin. They are also increasing surveillance on the river.
Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Caf , said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.
"In the past couple of days, it's been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and they're sad," Gray said on Saturday. "You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting."
Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. She said the caf has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.
Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to cross illegally into Canada or into the United States through the Mohawk territory since January, and most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.
In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border. In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
