A 21-year-old Indian student from Dera Bassi, Punjab, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a beach in Ottawa, Canada.
The deceased, identified as Vanshika Saini, was the daughter of Davinder Saini, an aide to AAP MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa, and had been studying in Ottawa for the past two and a half years.
Her body was found on an Ottawa beach, with authorities yet to determine the precise cause of death as investigations are underway. The Ottawa Indo-Canadians Association (OICA) issued a missing person alert for Vanshika in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Who was Vanshika Saini?
Vanshika moved to Canada after finishing Class XII to pursue a two-year diploma course and had been studying there for the past two and a half years.
She had completed her final examinations on April 18 and had begun working part-time. On April 22, she went for work but never returned home.
Vanshika was due to take an IELTS examination on April 25. When her friends attempted to check on her after the exam, they learnt she had been absent for three days.
All attempts to contact her proved futile as her mobile phone remained switched off.
Alarmed by her disappearance, Vanshika’s friends informed local authorities and reached out to the Indian community, leading to a search operation by local officials and the Indian High Commission.
Her family in India strongly believes there was foul play involved and maintains she was murdered. They are requesting Canadian authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into her death.
