Bengaluru: A 37-year-old resident of Karnataka was shot dead in the parking lot of the Woodbine Shopping Centre in the Rexdale Boulevard and Highway 27 area of Toronto on Saturday, according to details shared by police department.
The man has been identified as Chandan Kumar Raja Nandakumar, a resident of Thyamagondlu in Bengaluru Rural district. In Canada, he lived in Brampton.
“On Saturday, 7 February, at approximately 3.31 pm., police responded to a call for a shooting in the parking lot of Woodbine Shopping Centre in the Rexdale Boulevard and Highway 27 area,” said a Toronto Police statement.
It added that officers responded to the call and on the scene, located a male victim with gunshot wounds.
“The victim was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at hospital,” the police statement added.
The motive of the shooting is yet to be ascertained and local police are investigating.
An official from Nelamangala police station in Bengaluru Rural told ThePrint that the family has been informed.
“The father lives in Thyamagondlu and the son (victim) worked in Canada,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The victim’s father is reported to be a retired teacher.
The Press Trust of India reported that attackers fired multiple rounds of bullets in a sudden attack against Chandan who was working in Canada for the last six years.
Pictures and videos accessed by ThePrint show a white Hyundai car with the driver side door open at the scene of the crime. Another picture, shot at an earlier time, shows Chandan standing next to the car with the number plate DFNY-085.
Relatives of the deceased who spoke to TV9 Kannada news channel, said Canadian police informed the family of the incident late on Sunday night.
“They first spoke in English and my uncle did not understand what transpired. Later the police called back with the help of an Indian-language speaker to convey the message,” one relative told the news channel.
“We never dreamt that such a thing would happen. I had told him that it was six-seven years that he had moved there and asked him to return. He also had told me that he would soon,” the father told the TV news channel.
He added that Chandan had visited India barely a year ago and had mentioned that he would return in April.
Chandan was active in the local Kannada community in Canada and has been pictured with film stars and other celebrities who visited the north-American country.
The family is awaiting more information from the government of both countries and has appealed that the mortal remains be sent back to India.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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