"Come, I'll show you our family portrait," said 42-year-old Pooja Vasudev, as she walked towards a room at the family's Ghaziabad apartment on 10 April afternoon. She navigated the room which has been crowded with grieving family members, friends, and neighbours since the news of the murder of Pooja's eldest son Kartik in Canada's Toronto made headlines.
The family portrait, hung on a wall, beams with joy as Pooja, her husband Jitesh, and their sons Kartik and Parth splash their widest smiles. "My family is incomplete now," she said, and cried inconsolably as she held another photo of Kartik in her hand.
Kartik, 21, who harboured dreams of studying abroad, had moved to Toronto only three months ago. On 7 April, while on his way to work, he was shot dead at a subway station, allegedly by a man identified by Toronto Police as Richard Jonathan Edwin (39).
Four days after Kartik was shot dead, the police nabbed the accused, and called it a "random act of violence" which was "unprovoked." Toronto Police also claimed that the accused killed another person two days after Kartik.
Two days before the arrest, The Quint met Kartik's family at their home. Devastated, they demanded answers and claimed that they were being kept in the dark about the investigation by the police into their son's murder.
Kartik's murder made headlines in India and Canada, and led to protests rallies as well.
The Last Conversation
At their residence on 10 April, Pooja narrated her last conversation with her son, Kartik, for the nth time: "I had spoken to Kartik at 3 pm, he was supposed to leave for his shift at 4 pm. It was going to take him two hours to travel to work. The last thing he told me was that he was having lunch and will leave for work at 4 pm. I was not able to talk to him after that."
The deceased's father Jitesh told The Quint that the manager of the store where his son worked at in Toronto called to tell them that Kartik had not reported to work on 7 April.
"We tried calling but could not reach Kartik. His manager then informed them (who Kartik lived with) that a firing had been reported near a subway in the local news. She identified the bag that he was carrying the picture being flashed in the local news. They then got in touch with the police for identification after which it was confirmed that it was Kartik who was shot dead," Jitesh said.
Alleged Killer Nabbed, But Family Seeks More Answers
After a 4-day hunt for the accused, Edwin was arrested with the police claiming that it was a "random act of violence." During the press briefing on Tuesday, 12 April, the police claimed that the accused and Kartik had "no prior connection," and that he was attacked "unprovoked and defenceless."
The police claimed that it "cannot be immediately concluded as a hate crime and the investigation is still in the early stages." Police claimed that at the accused's residence, a cache of firearms including rifles and handguns too was discovered - which signifies that perhaps "more cases of violence have been averted with the arrest."
Kartik's family in Ghaziabad, however, are dissatisfied with the probe, and want a deeper investigation to reveal the motive.
Within 48 hours of killing Kartik, Edwin had murdered another man identified as Elijah Mahepath (39). Police claimed that after Edwin fatally shot Kartik on 7 April, he approached Mahepath on 9 April - two days later - and shot him multiple times and fled on foot, a pattern that was parallel to Kartik's killing.
The probe into Mahepath's murder is what helped the police establish the link between the two killings and subsequently nab Edwin.
Dissatisfied with police probe, Kartik's father told The Quint, "The man who killed my son on Thursday also killed another man on Saturday. A man was wielding a gun in a city like Toronto and went on a killing spree. What would you call it? A random act of violence? Or a terrorist act? Or racism?"
He added that the alleged discovery of loaded guns at the accused's house "indicates he might have had other plans. Why did he do what he did? That needs to be probed."
When asked about the police's probe into the possibility of both killings being a hate crime since both victims were of "different ethnicities," Detective Sergeant Terry Browne of Homicide on Tuesday said: "I can tell you that they were both visible minorities. We are not really sure with regards to both shootings what advantage points the shooter would have had with the victims with regards to interaction. We know that there was no verbal interaction with either one and we are not sure whether the shooter was actually able to gain face-to-face sidelines with either one of these victims, so I wouldn't want to speculate whether someone was targeted based on their background or their ethnicity because we don't have that information. But certainly, from what we saw, any interaction with the shooter was very quick and brief and we can't say with certainty whether he would have been able to see their ethnicity," he said.
Kartik's body is expected to be flown back to India on 16 April, following which Jitesh plans to go to Toronto to speak to the investigating officers.
"I will go to Canada whenever I am required to be present before a jury. We will demand that the accused gets the maximum punishment that is lawfully defined by the country," Jitesh said.
A Family's Dreams Shattered
Kartik was studying digital marketing at Toronto's Seneca College. Seated at their Ghaziabad home, his father Jitesh told The Quint, "My son was preparing to go to Canada since three years. It was his dream to study abroad and live there. He wanted to study digital management. We supported him in every way we could."
Jitesh and Pooja recalled how happy Kartik was in Toronto, with his new job. "He also bought a new phone with his first paycheck. He was very satisfied with his life there. We had never imagined something like this would happen," said Jitesh.
Grief and trauma are accompanied by anger and disbelief. "We send our children abroad thinking it's safe, they say Toronto is safe. How is it even safe when shots are fired in broad daylight? An innocent child was killed. How is it safe?" said a teary-eyed Pooja.
As she broke down, Pooja is consoled by her son Parth. "Parents take loans with and send their children abroad, but not to see this day. We send our children to help them realise their dreams. I didn't want to make my child famous like this. I want justice for my child," she added.
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