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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
HC questions Delhi govt over failure to regulate sale of old vehicles, refers to Red Fort blast
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court questioned the city government on Wednesday over its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, while pointing out that in a recent bomb blast near the Red Fort, a second-hand car was used, making the issue more significant.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Delhi government to file a detailed response on the issue of regulating authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
"A car changes four hands but the original owner has not changed. Therefore, what happens? That man (the original owner) goes to the slaughterhouse? What is this? How are you permitting this? You will take a call when two-three more bomb blasts take place?" the bench asked the Delhi government's counsel.
The bomb blast near the iconic Mughal-era monument was carried out using a second-hand car, making the issue even more significant, it said.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in January 2026.
ALSO READ: Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by an organisation, Towards Happy Earth Foundation, highlighting the challenges in the implementation of rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
While the rules were intended to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, the petitioner's counsel argued that they have failed in practice due to regulatory gaps and procedural hurdles.
The plea said there is a major gap in the amended framework, that is, the absence of any statutory mechanism for reporting dealer-to-dealer transfers.
"In reality, most used vehicles pass through multiple dealers before reaching the final buyer, but the rules recognise only the first transfer to the initial authorised dealer.
"As a result, the chain of custody breaks after the first step, defeating the very purpose of accountability," the petition said.
It added that because of these gaps, only a very small percentage of dealers across India have been able to obtain authorised dealer registration and in Delhi, not a single dealer has got it.
Consequently, lakhs of vehicles continue to circulate without any record of who is actually in possession of those, it said.
The plea said only a small fraction of India's estimated 30,000 to 40,000 used-vehicle dealers are registered under the authorised-dealer framework.
The petition also pointed out that the 11-year-old vehicle used in the November 10 bomb blast near the Red Fort was sold several times but was still registered in its original owner's name.
The blast near the Red Fort had claimed 15 lives.
