Response of Annushath’s family
The Sunday Leader also spoke with Annushath
Indrakanthan’s family.
Q: Are there any leads on the case that you have
heard of?
A: The police are optimistic in solving this
case as there are many strong leads.
Q: Do you know why he might have been a victim of
gang violence?
A: No, he was not involved with any gangs.
Q: As far as you know he wasn’t associated with any
gangs?
A: He had no association with gangs.
Q: Do you think gang violence is a major problem in
Toronto’s Tamil community; if so what drives this
violence?
A: Gang violence is not a major problem in
Toronto’s Tamil community at the present time. These
two cases just happened to occur within a short
period of time by coincidence and since both victims
are Tamil, it seems like Tamil gang violence is on
the rise where as it is not.
Q: Your son was your greatest joy and has been taken
away, how are you coping at this time?
A: Obviously this is a very hard time for
everyone and no mother or father should ever
experience such pain. The pain will never heal.
A breakthrough...
Two males have been arrested in regard to the murder
of Annushanth Indrakanthan which occurred on July 20
at 7 Bonis Avenue. The males arrested are Vikas
Dahiya (21 years) of
Toronto
and Antriksh Singh (19 years) of Markham. Both have
been charged with First Degree Murder and were
produced in court Friday, at 1911 Eglinton Avenue
East Courthouse.
Detective Sergeant Nielsen, Homicide Squad told The
Sunday Leader, “We believe that there are at least
two and possibly more people involved and we are
actively trying to identify them and what their role
in this case was. If those persons were not directly
involved in this attack I would ask them to contact
me either directly or through their lawyer. We have
had good witnesses in this case and it is because
people have come forward to provide information that
this investigation is progressing well.”
“We also believe that there are a number of friends
of the victim who have important information as to
what may have led up to the victim being killed, and
we would like those friends to come forward and
speak with us…” he said.
Our son was not involved with gangs — Kristian’s
parents
The family of Kristian Thanapalan, 22, said:
Q: Are there any leads on the case that you have
heard of?
A: We have the utmost respect and confidence
in the Toronto Police and we are fortunate to have
two very experienced detectives working on
Kristian’s case. We would like to defer all matters
relating to the investigation to these detectives
and would not like to respond to any questions
relating to the investigation in order to preserve
the integrity of the investigation.
Q: Do you know why he might have been a victim of
gang violence?
A: We would like to refer you to a statement
by the lead detective, Sergeant Savas Kyriacou, of
this case at a recent media conference; ‘Kristian
and the people he was with had a bright future in
front of them, most of them are university students
and working. He and his friends were in no way
involved in criminal or gang activity and that
anywhere from 20 to 25 people may have witnessed the
attack.’
Our son/brother had been a caring and responsible
human being and was an extraordinary asset to our
family; he was very much looking forward to commence
his university studies in September. All we know is
that Kristian left for a volleyball game and never
came back to us. We have full faith in the Toronto
Police and will rely upon the authorities to seek
justice in this case.
Q: As far as you know he wasn’t associated with any
gangs?
A: Again, please refer to the above unbiased
statement by the lead detective of this case. As his
family members, we can unequivocally state to you
that Kristian had been an extraordinary and
productive citizen of our community.
Q: Do you think gang violence is a major problem in
Toronto’s Tamil community; if so what drives this
violence?
A: No, we do not think so. The Tamil
community that we belong to here in Canada has done
very well as a first generation. We have aspiring
leaders in every vertical of our society today and
our young-generation has been a thriving force
enacting positive changes. In our view, these types
of incidents are very much isolated and could have
happened anywhere in the world.
That is why it is critical to find the culprits who
are responsible for Kristian’s demise. These cowards
have committed a senseless and heinous crime. That
is how we are treating this matter and are hopeful
justice will prevail soon.
Q: How is the community assisting your family at
this time?
A: Many community organisations have come
forward to help us during this difficult time.
Dorset
Park,
Dorset Park Youth Crisis Response Team, Canadian
Tamil Congress, Action for Neighbourhood Change, and
others have been assisting us and we are grateful
for their active participation in this matter. These
organisations have been actively engaged in
protecting Kristian’s honour and have been closely
working with all necessary media outlets to create
awareness of Kristian’s case. Dorset Park also
organised a Candlelight Vigil in memory of Kristian
on July 24, which was well attended.
Q: Your son was your greatest joy and has been taken
away, how are you coping at this time?
A: There are no words to describe our loss.
It was sudden and unimaginable. We will have to live
with this vacuum, which has been created by
Kristian’s death, for the rest of our lives. He is
irreplaceable and is engraved in all of us.
Therefore, the pain is enormous. It is suffice to
say that we are having difficulty to cope with his
absence at this time.
