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 report from the board says four of the five people aboard the Rocky Pass were injured when the boat came to an abrupt stop on the rocks on Jan. 25, 2022. The operator, who had 20 years of experience captaining the taxi, was using GPS in very foggy conditions when the navigation device froze.
According to Mounties, one residence in the area was hit by gunfire. The residence was occupied at the time of the incident but no gunshot injuries occurred. The victims are cooperating with the police investigation.
The cause of death remains under investigation. Evidence indicates the woman died prior to the fire starting. Vancouver Police are working with the BC Coroners Service to identify the woman.
Environment Canada says anywhere from 15 to 25 centimetres is expected at higher elevations of the passes north and east of Hope by Tuesday morning. Up to 15 centimetres of snow is forecast along the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler, but the weather office says conditions there should ease by later in the day.
Flair Airlines says passengers were "impacted" after four of its leased aircraft were seized in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo, Ont., in what the company is calling a "commercial dispute." Flair issued a statement on Saturday calling the move by "a New York-based hedge fund" to take the aircraft "extreme and unusual."
Surrey Fire Service say they found one person dead inside an apartment after a fire in the Whalley area. The Surrey RCMP were also called in to the 13300 Block of 104th Avenue where the fire took place at around 8:30am on Saturday.
