A 28-year-old man hailing from Ludhiana, Punjab, was shot dead in Surrey, Canada, on Friday in what the police said may be a targeted killing.
The man, identified as Yuvraj Goyal, had gone to Canada in 2019 on a student visa, reported The Indian Express.
Goyal’s family suspected that the incident may have been a case of mistaken identity. According to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team of the Canadian police, Goyal had no criminal record.
On Saturday, the Canadian police arrested four suspects – Manvir Basram (23), Sahib Basra (20), Harkirat Jhutty (20) and Keilon Francois (20) – in the case. They have been charged with first-degree murder.
“Although initial evidence suggests this was a targeted shooting, investigators are working to determine the reason that Mr Goyal, a 28-year old community member with no history of police contact, was killed,” the police stated.
Goyal had recently received Canadian Permanent Resident status, according to The Indian Express.
Speaking to the newspaper, Goyal’s mother Shakun Goyal said: “I spoke to him shortly before the incident. He was in his car, returning home from the gym early in the morning. He told me to go to sleep as it was nighttime here in India. He said he would call back later.”
Shakun Goyal and her husband Rajesh Goyal said “the Canadian government must understand that parents send their children to Canada with a lot of dreams, not to get their lifeless bodies back”.
“Who should we blame?” asked the parents. “The Canadian government must realize that this is not the first such incident on their soil. They must strictly punish those who target innocents. Many such children have been killed in Canada before. My son never had even a minor clash with anyone since he went to Canada in 2019. Why was he targeted? Can anyone answer?”
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