Indian student fatally stabbed in Canada; housemate arrested
Ottawa, Dec 6: A 22-year-old Indian student was stabbed to death during an altercation in Canada's Ontario province, according to the police, who have arrested and charged the victim's housemate with second-degree murder in connection with the case.
Gurasis Singh, a first-year business management student at Lambton College, was stabbed on Sunday in Sarnia, police said in a statement.
The police received an emergency call for a report of a stabbing at 194 Queen Street, where Singh and the 36-year-old accused Crossley Hunter were residents of a rooming house.
They located Singh's dead body and took Hunter into custody.
In a later statement, police said Singh and Hunter were involved in a physical altercation while in the kitchen, where the latter accessed a knife and stabbed Singh multiple times, killing him.
Police said they did not believe the crime to be racially motivated "at this time".
Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis said that despite the arrest, the "complex investigation" is ongoing.
"The Sarnia Police Criminal Investigations Division continues to gather all available evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding this criminal act and what, if any, motive may have existed that led to the murder of this young man," the statement quoted him.
Davis added that the police, with Lambton College, "will continue our efforts to support Gurasis' family and friends as they seek to navigate these tragic circumstances."
The college also issued a statement condoling Singh's death.
"Students are at the heart of Lambton College, and the loss of a student is a tragedy of the highest magnitude. We extend our deepest condolences to Gurasis’s family, loved ones, and friends," it said.
"Many of our employees knew Gurasis from teaching him or providing student services. Even more have stepped in to provide support for his grieving friends and classmates," it added.
Meanwhile, Hunter appeared by video before a Justice of the Peace and was remanded into custody. His next appearance will be later today.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
