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The father of 22-year-old Indian student Vidhi Megha, who was stabbed to death in Canada's Niagara region, has urged the government to repatriate her mortal remains to India for her final rites.
Vidhi Megha, a resident of Borsad in Gujarat, was killed on May 15 in St. Catharines in the Niagara region of Canada and was reportedly attacked with a knife in a suspected homicide incident. "My daughter is 22 years old; the incident happened in St Catharines in Canada's Niagara region. She was attacked with a knife," her father, Kalpeshbhai Medha, said on Thursday. "My request to the government is that we must perform my daughter's final rites right here in India; therefore, please provide us with the body as soon as possible and send it here," he added. Kalpeshbhai said he received information about his daughter's death from the police on Wednesday and has contacted relatives in Canada to initiate the required proceedings to get her body back home. "I received information from the police station yesterday. I sent an email to my relatives who are over there, and they initiated the necessary proceedings from that end," he said. According to her father, Vidhi Megha had gone to Canada to study business management and had completed her three-year course. She later enrolled in a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Honours course. Kalpeshbhai Megha further stated that Gujarat Cabinet Minister and BJP MLA from Borsad, Ramanbhai Solanki, had also visited the family on Thursday morning. "My daughter had gone there to study business management, and her 3-year course has been completed. She then pursued a PSW (Personal Support Worker) Honours course. My brother-in-law lives there," he said. Speaking to reporters on the incident, Solanki said that he had spoken with both the CMO and the PMO to ensure her body is returned without further delay. "I learned only last night about the killing of Vidhi Megha, the daughter of our Borsad. This morning, I went to meet her family members. I empathised with their grief and anguish, offered them my condolences, and conveyed their demand to the government: that the daughter's mortal remains be handed over to her family members as soon as possible," Solanki said. "I have spoken with both the CMO and the PMO regarding this matter to ensure that her body is returned to her family members without any further delay," he added. Earlier on May 15, the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) in a release stated that its officers responded to a call to a residence near Lakeshore Road and Lake Street in St Catharines after reports of two people without vital signs. They stated that an adult female was found deceased inside the residence, while an adult male was transported to a local hospital with injuries expected to be non-life-threatening. Following this, the NRPS Homicide Unit took over the investigation and arrested 40-year-old Joshua St Omer on May 18. He has been charged with second-degree murder and remains in custody, another release stated. (ANI)
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