2 Indian trainee pilots among 3 people killed in small plane crash in Canada
Toronto (PTI): Two trainee pilots from India are among three persons killed when a small plane crashed in Canada's British Columbia province, according to media reports.
Abhay Gadru and Yash Ramugade, both 25, from Mumbai, were in the small twin-engine light aircraft - a piper PA-34 Seneca - which crashed on Friday near the local airport in Chilliwack city, about 100 km east of Vancouver.
The plane crashed behind a motel near the airport, killing the pilot and everyone on board, Sgt. Pete Healey from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was quoted as saying by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Gadru moved to Canada three years ago to complete pilot training and was expected to graduate in November, his cousin Sdradha Trisal was quoted as saying by the Vancouver Sun newspaper on Saturday.
"He was such a pure soul. I can't believe he's gone and I'm just left with memories now," Trisal said.
A total of three people were killed in the plane crash.
The report said that Gadru's sibling Chirag, who also lives in the British Columbia province, is trying to send back his brother's remains to their parents in India.
Meanwhile, CTV News Vancouver, a Canadian news portal, said that the second person among the three killed was Yash Ramugude, who also hailed from Mumbai.
While details about Gadru were given, there was not much information about Ramugade in the Canadian media reports.
The registration number on the plane's tail indicates the aircraft, which appeared badly damaged, is a Piper PA-34 Seneca owned by SkyQuest Aviation, a flight school based in Langley. It was built in 1972.
"We're looking into it but we're not issuing any statements. There is nothing we can say at this time," an employee, who works as an administrator at SkyQuest Aviation, said on condition of anonymity.
The reports did not identify the pilot of the small plane.
It is still unknown what caused the twin-engined light aircraft to crash, the CBC report said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it's sending investigators, it said.
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Karnataka MLA Vinay Kulkarni disqualified after conviction in Goudar murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Saturday issued an official notification regarding the disqualification of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni following his conviction in the murder case of BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar.
The former minister is currently in prison, serving life imprisonment in the case.
“Consequent upon the conviction of Vinay Kulkarni, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad constituency, by the LXXXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC No. 565/2021, he stands disqualified from the membership of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e, April 15, 2026,” the notification read.
“He stands disqualified in terms of the provisions of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court,” it added.
Hence, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification said.
Bypolls were held on April 9 to fill two other seats in the 224-member Assembly that fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLAs. The results will be declared on May 4.
On April 15, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder. Subsequently, on April 17, the court sentenced Kulkarni and 15 others convicted in the case to life imprisonment.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time. Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Vinay Kulkarni as the “main conspirator.” It alleged that he perceived Yogeshgouda Goudar as a growing political rival in Dharwad and hired contract killers to eliminate him.
Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021 under certain conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. However, in June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail following allegations of witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses.
Kulkarni again sought bail in January 2026, but the High Court rejected it, citing judicial propriety.
However, the Supreme Court granted him bail on February 27 after noting that all witnesses had been examined.
