No charges to be pressed in violent killing of Indo-Canadian activist
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Apr, 2023 10:24 AM
Toronto, April 4 (IANS) Crown prosecutors in Canada's British Columbia province have decided not to press any charges in the violent killing of Indo-Canadian activist and filmmaker Manbir Mani Amar in 2022, media reports said.
Amar, a 40 year-old father of three, was fatally injured on August 31, 2022 during a physical altercation between two neighbours, leading to the arrest of one person.
British Columbia (BC) Prosecution spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told Global News that the case didn't meet the standard for charge assessment according to the Crown.
"The BC prosecution Service can confirm that, after carefully reviewing all the investigative materials submitted by IHIT (Integrated Homicide Investigation Team) investigators, no charges were approved in the case," McLaughlin said.
When conducting charge assessment, prosecutors must weigh both whether the case has a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it is in the public interest, he said.
"In determining whether this test is satisfied, Crown Counsel must consider what material evidence is likely to be admissible and available at a trial; the objective reliability of the admissible evidence; and whether there are viable defences, or other legal or constitutional impediments to the prosecution, that remove any substantial likelihood of a conviction," McLaughlin told Global News.
He, however, did not say what exactly did not meet the prosecution service's standards to proceed in Amar's case.
"This was an isolated incident between two neighbours, tragically this situation escalated to a point where a life was taken," Sergeant Timothy Pierotti of IHIT had said after the incident.
Amar had produced documentaries and short films focusing on guns and gangs in Vancouver. His 2009 award-winning documentary, "A Warrior's Religion" provided an insight into the gang life in Vancouver's South Asian communities.
The IMDB describes his feature film "Footsteps Into Gangland", as "an adaptation of true events that shattered Metro Vancouver's South Asian community".
A statement from Surrey RCMP says the body was discovered as officers were called to the Grandview Heights neighbourhood just before 8 p.m. Monday. Police say the unnamed victim appeared to have been shot. The case has been turned over to IHIT.
Pedestrian safety measures and protected cycling infrastructure will be put in place between 96th and 108th avenues. Planned pedestrian safety improvements include wider sidewalks, curb extensions, new crosswalks and accessible curb ramps.
Sgt. Hélène St-Pierre said the 38-year-old driver, a local resident, turned himself in to police and was arrested under suspicion of committing a fatal hit and run. One man who died was in his 60s, and the other was in his 70s.
British Columbia's attorney general says the province is treading carefully to ensure the overincarceration of Indigenous people and other racialized groups is not made worse by proposed federal changes to the bail system.
That includes formalizing American and British plans to help Australia develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in response to growing concerns about China's actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture says the skunks were infected with the same H5N1 strain that has caused the deaths of millions of domestic poultry since the outbreak began in April last year. The skunks were found in residential areas in both cities and were taken to B.C.'s Animal Health Centre over concerns they may have been deliberately poisoned.
