- Vidhi Kalpeshbhai Megha, 22, was stabbed in Canada’s Niagara region after refusing to pay a drug dealer
- The incident occurred on May 15 in St Catharines, with family informed over 10 days later
- Vidhi’s father requested the Canadian government to return her body to India for final rites
Vidhi Kalpeshbhai Megha, the 22-year-old student from Gujarat, was stabbed by a drug dealer in Canada's Niagara region after she refused to pay him money, her father has claimed.
Vidhi was killed on May 15 in St Catharines, but her family was informed over 10 days later.
According to her father, a drug dealer was seeking to collect money from Vidhi. "She fought with him and refused to pay. He attacked her with a knife...I was informed that she had died. I sent an official email to my relatives," he told news agency IANS.
He also urged the Canadian government to send his daughter's body back to India to conduct her final rites.
"My daughter's name is Vidhi Kalpesh Megha. She had been there for four years. I have a request to the government: my daughter's body should be sent to India as soon as possible," he said.
Vidhi's father said Gujarat Cabinet Minister and BJP MLA from Borsad, Ramanbhai Solanki, had spoken to him regarding the incident. Solanki spoke to both the Chief Minister's Office and the Prime Minister's Office to ensure Vidhi's 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.
Vidhi, a resident of Borsad in Gujarat, had moved to Canada to study business management and had completed her three-year course. She later enrolled in a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Honours course.
Her killer, 40-year-old Joshua St Omer, was arrested on May 18. He was charged with second-degree murder, the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) said in a statement.
