Year after Kartik Vasudev's death, preliminary hearings begin in Canada

A year after Kartik Vasudev died in Canada, his family is finally heaving a sigh of relief as preliminary hearings have begun in the case of the 21-year-old student’s death, who was allegedly shot dead by a Canadian national outside the Sherbourne TTC station in Toronto.

Kartik Vasudev was pursuing Management studies in Canada

Kartik, who hailed from Ghaziabad, was pursuing Management studies at Seneca College in Toronto while also working part-time at a Mexican restaurant in the city.  The incident occurred when the student was travelling to his workplace as part of his daily shift on the evening of April 7, 2022.

Though Kartik received medical attention from an off-duty paramedic, he succumbed to his injuries.

Preliminary hearings began last month

Jitesh and Pooja Vasudev, who are Kartik’s parents, travelled to Toronto to attend the first day of the preliminary hearing on March 30, expecting their son to receive justice soon.

“The hearings will go into trial once we have enough evidence,” stated Jitesh, who is now back in India and will continue attending online hearings of the case.

The suspect, Richard Jonathan Edwin, is also the prime accused in another case where he allegedly gunned down a 35-year-old who was walking down the city street.

“Kartik was a very polite, sensitive, loyal child. Everybody, family, friends, everyone loved him very much,” stated Jitesh while remembering his son.

Questions arise on safety of Indian students in Canada

Though Canada’s reputation as being safe is solidified, with the Global Peace Index ranking it as the 10th most peaceful country in the world, certain incidents have put into question the state of international students in the country.

While Pawanpreet Kaur, a student from Punjab, was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant in Ontario in December 2022, many have died of drug overdoses in cities such as Brampton and Toronto over the last year. Many students have also been served with deportation letters from Canadian authorities over fake admission letters, which the former maintain they did not know.