Suspected killer of Indian student in Canada arrested: Police
Toronto/Ghaziabad(PTI): The Toronto Police on Tuesday announced that a 39-year-old man, who is believed to have shot and killed 21-year-old Indian student Kartik Vasudev in Canada, has been arrested.
The victim, who hailed from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, had moved to Canada in January to pursue higher education, according to his family.
His father has expressed concern over the motive of the killing not being known and he told PTI that he would travel to Canada to follow up the legal proceedings in Kartik's case.
Kartik was shot on Thursday evening at the Glen Road entrance to Sherbourne TTC station in St James Town.
He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
"Kartik was just outside the Sherbourne subway station last Thursday when he was approached by a stranger...Unprovoked, this man shot Kartik multiple times, killing him," Toronto Police Service chief James Ramer told reporters.
The police identified the suspect as Richard Jonathan Edwin, who was charged with another homicide last Saturday.
Edwin's second victim was Elijah Eleazar Mahepath (35), who was walking westbound on the north side of Dundas Street East near George Street, police said.
Ramer told the reporters that the suspect behind both the homicides was in police custody and described the incidents as "random attacks".
Detective Sergeant Terry Browne of the Homicide Department, Toronto Police, said Kartik was shot "multiple times" and he was in a "defenceless position" the whole time.
On the motive, Browne said, "the suspect that we are referring to for both shootings, has no criminal background. We are doing a very deep dive to find out his criminal background, to find out who this person is, where he has been and who he has been associating with.
"With regard to the two victims, there is nothing to suggest that he knew either of them and more importantly what we believe at this stage anyways is what we do describe as random, a chance meeting, a chance passing and the reason only known to the suspect," he added.
In Ghaziabad near New Delhi, Kartik's father Jitesh Vasudev told PTI that he has been informed about the arrest by the Canadian police officials.
The father said their demand for the suspect's arrest has been fulfilled but expressed concern over the motive of the incident not being known.
We have got to know that he was behind one more murder and firearms along with ammunition were found from his residence by the police. This was not a normal incident, no normal person shoots two strange people, Vasudev said.
He said the suspect is a resident of Canada and he would soon travel to the North American country for follow up and if needed, take up the case legally.
We have been informed by Canadian authorities that the body will arrive in Ghaziabad on Saturday. We will perform the last rituals. We will go to Canada to follow up on the legal proceedings and ensure that the killer does not get away with small punishment, the father told PTI.
He said Kartik had spent the last three years studying hard to be accepted into the school in Toronto.
Kartik was particularly drawn to the safety and opportunities in Canada, his father said, adding that he had made friends and had just got a part-time job at the Mexican restaurant just two weeks ago.
The last time he and his wife spoke to their son was Thursday afternoon.
"He was a very polite, very sensitive, very loyal child. Everybody, family, friends, everybody loves him very much," the victim's father said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had expressed grief at the killing. "Grieved by this tragic incident. Deepest condolences to the family," he had tweeted.
"We are shocked & distressed at the unfortunate killing of Indian student Kartik Vasudev in a shooting incident in Toronto...," the Consulate General of India wrote in a statement posted on Twitter on Friday.
"We are in touch with the family and will provide all possible assistance in the early repatriation of mortal remains," it said.
Seneca College said Kartik was enrolled in its marketing management programme.
"The Seneca community is saddened to hear of the tragic death of Kartik Vasudev, a first-semester Marketing Management student," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and classmates. Counselling support is being made available to students and employees.
Police had said the suspect in the shooting was a Black male standing five-foot-six to five-foot-seven inches tall with a medium build. This was city's 19th murder of the year.
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32 airports shut for civilian flight operations till May 15: DGCA
New Delhi, May 9 (PTI): Thirty-two airports across northern and western parts of the country, including Srinagar and Amritsar, have been closed for civilian flight operations till May 15, according to the civil aviation regulator.
The decision, announced early Saturday, comes in view of the military conflict between India and Pakistan that continued unabated since India's May 7 strikes on terror camps and Pakistan's subsequent shelling of border areas.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and relevant aviation authorities have issued a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) announcing the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations.
The closure will be effective from "May 9, 2025, to May 14, 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025), due to operational reasons," DGCA said in a release.
The airports include Adhampur, Ambala, Amritsar, Awantipur, Bathinda, Bhuj, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindon, and Jammu.
Other airports are Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kandla, Kangra (Gaggal), Keshod, Kishangarh, Kullu Manali (Bhuntar), and Leh, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Patiala, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Srinagar, Thoise and Uttarlai are the remaining airports to be shut, the release said.
Earlier, at least 24 airports had been ordered shut for civilian flight operations till May 10.
Meanwhile, the AAI has extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) due to "operational reasons."
"The 25 route segments will remain unavailable from ground level to unlimited altitude until 2359 UTC on 14th May 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025)," DGCA said.
Because of the closure of these segments, the regulator has advised airlines and flight operators to plan alternate routes.
The temporary closure is being managed in coordination with relevant ATC units to ensure safety and minimise disruption, it added.
On April 30, India shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines as part of retaliatory measures in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers.
On Friday, Air India in a post on X said that due to the continued closure of multiple airports in India, its flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot were being cancelled till 5.29 am on May 15.
In a post on X, IndiGo said all flights to and from 10 destinations will remain cancelled until May 15 same time.
An armed conflict rages on between India and Pakistan following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under Operation Sindoor early Wednesday in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre.
#TravelAdvisory
— Air India (@airindia) May 9, 2025
Following a notification from aviation authorities on continued closure of multiple airports in India, Air India flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot – are being cancelled till…
#6ETravelAdvisory: In line with the latest directives, the flights to/from the following cities will remain cancelled until 0529 hrs on 15th May. We’re here to help you. Check flight status https://t.co/rpnOvAOxQl To rebook or claim a refund, visit https://t.co/t9jVUTnmxZ pic.twitter.com/y16QBpZ4R9
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