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".
Kamaljit Tiwana was believed to be driving a grey 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, which was located abandoned by Delta Police in a northbound lane on the Alex Fraser Bridge early Sunday morning. Kamaljit Tiwana is described as a 42-year-old South Asian woman, 5’5, 99 lbs. with brown eyes and black hair.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday Canada and the U.S. were co-operating and in constant communication about the situation, adding both countries and the North American Aerospace Defence Command are taking the situation very seriously.
Two men had serious injuries, but all in hospital were in stable condition, they said. Other injured people were released at the scene. The explosion occurred around 6:18 a.m. local time and affected four homes that were under construction, said Ottawa deputy fire chief David Matschke.
National Security Council co-ordinator John Kirby confirmed the latest encounter and its location during Friday's press briefing at the White House, and said the order to shoot it down came directly from President Joe Biden.
He says the trailer with a box on top was in the lifted or dumping position when it crashed into the overpass. Hwang says it's unclear what the circumstances were before the crash, which happened at about 7:30 Friday morning.
The overdose crisis debate is expected to continue through the spring as the government highlighted in its throne speech its work on a model of addictions care that moves people from detox to treatment.
