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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Leopard spotted near Kadri Manjunath Temple in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: A leopard was spotted in Doctors’ Colony near the Kadri Manjunath Temple area in Mangaluru in the early hours of Monday, February 23, creating anxiety among residents of the locality.
According to local residents, the animal was spotted in the CCTV footage of two cameras installed in the locality around 1 am near the entrance gate of Doctors’ Colony. The footage shows the leopard walking calmly in front of the gate before moving out of view.
The sighting has come as a surprise as the area is largely urbanised, with apartment complexes and villa-type houses dominating the surroundings. Except for a small patch of forested land above the Kadri temple area, there is little greenery nearby. Residents say the concrete landscape offers limited scope for wild animals to find food.
This is not the first time wild animals have been spotted in the locality. Two years ago, a wild gaur had entered the same area and was later guided back into the forest through Shaktinagar. Just last week, a smaller leopard was sighted in Shaktinagar and was also captured on CCTV cameras. Now, a bigger leopard has been recorded near Kadri.
So far, no one has reported a direct sighting of the animal, and no formal complaint has been lodged with the Forest Department.
Forest Department officials said leopard movement is common during the months of January and February, as the animals often enter human settlements in search of food. In areas near forests, they usually prey on poultry and stray dogs.
Officials added that leopards are capable of travelling 15 to 20 kilometres in a single night and generally do not remain in one place if they are unable to find food. While sightings are more common in forest-fringe areas such as Bajpe and Neermarga, repeated appearances within core city limits this time have caused concern among residents.
