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".
Born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, Ravi was of Filipino and Indian heritage. Srinivasan earned a bachelor's degree in film and English literature at Wilfrid Laurier University and studied film and television production at Sheridan College.
Upon reaching the scene, police found that a man had been struck on the head causing his "religious head covering" -- which they later identified as turban -- to fall on the ground. The suspect allegedly passed derogatory comments at the victim before he left the TTC station, the Toronto Police said in a statement.
Officers patrolling near Granville and Smithe Street were flagged down by the victim around 9:40 p.m. Sunday after he was attacked. The man had serious injuries and was rushed to hospital. He is expected to recover.
Upon arrival, officers located a male victim in his twenties. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The initial investigation suggests that this incident was not random.
The 65-year-old driver was heading west near Nootka Street and East 6 Avenue, when the Chevrolet Malibu he was driving suddenly veered off the road and struck a pole at about 7:35 p.m. The driver went into medical distress and died after being taken to hospital.
Trudeau is fresh off a week of cross-country travel focused on Canada's push to expand its battery and electric-vehicle industries, part of a broader goal to get more competitive on clean technology. Senior Liberals are expected to use the retreat to hammer out political and policy priorities for the months ahead, keeping in mind their confidence-and-supply deal with the NDP.
