'We need justice': Wife of Sikh man slain in Canada New Year day shooting
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jan, 2023 10:46 AM
Toronto, Jan 17 (IANS) The wife of a 51-year-old Sikh man, who was shot dead when intruders broke into his Mill Woods house in Canada on New Year, has said that she needs swift justice for her husband.
Barinder Singh, who hails from Punjab and had moved to Edmonton in 2019 along with family, was asleep when intruders broke into his house at Mill Woods Road and started firing, the Global News reported.
Police responded to a disturbance around 2.45 a.m., and arrived at the complex in the Pollard Meadows neighbourhood to find an injured 51-year-old man lying in a pool of blood.
"It's all like a nightmare for us," a shattered Jasjeet Kaur, wife of Singh, told Global News.
Singh was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The autopsy revealed that he died from gunshot wounds and the medical examiner said that the manner of death was a homicide.
"We need justice. I just want to know who did this. I need to know. Whya Why my family was the target? And it was not just him -- it was the whole family," Jasjeet Kaur told the Canadian news channel. "I want the culprits. I want to know the reason why it happened."
A GoFundMe page set up for Singh described him as an "honest, family man who worked hard to provide for his family".
"(He was) a devoted son, a good brother and a caring father -- he kept us going through good times and tough times. Through his work, he supported my grandparents in Punjab, while providing for us in Delhi, India," the page quoted his two daughters as saying.
Police said it is still working to establish a motive for this violent crime. So far, the homicide unit has found a burnt-out white Dodge Ram truck in the nearby Laurel neighbourhood, which they think is connected to the crime.
They are looking for home security and dashcam footage in the area where the burned-out truck was located.
Following the incident, an arrest warrant was issued for Singh, and he was arrested late last month. Singh has been charged with 12 offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property and flight from a police officer.
The suspects fled in the stolen vehicle after there was an exchange of gunfire with responding officers. Neither the suspects or responding officers were shot. It is unknown at this time if the outstanding suspects were injured.
In October, VPD investigators executed multiple search warrants, seizing 72 kilograms of the fake, fentanyl-laced pills, along with 16.5 kilograms of cocaine, 88 kilograms of cutting agents, methamphetamine, MDMA, and benzodiazepine.
Canada slapped a 35 per cent tariff on most goods coming from Russia and Belarus, which has been an ally to Moscow since the invasion began in February. Freeland's office says the tariffs stem from Canadian purchases that are mostly fertilizer, tires, nickel and plywood.
The federal government issued one-time payments in April to compensate seniors affected by such clawbacks. The ombudsperson also raised concerns about vulnerable individuals not filing their taxes and therefore missing out on benefits.
The report says the cost of 734 officers with the Surrey Police Service would be $249,460 per officer, while each Mountie would be $205,990. The city says the plan will be sent to Solicitor General Mike Farnworth by Dec. 15 for his final review and approval.
