Kannada native shot dead in Toronto mall; Police suspect planned murder

BENGALURU: A techie from Karnataka died tragically in a shooting incident in Toronto, Canada. Chandan Kumar Raja Nandakumar (37), a native of Nelamangala, Bengaluru, was killed in the attack. The incident took place in the parking area of ​​the Woodbine Shopping Mall in Toronto on Saturday morning.

Chandan was sitting in his car parked in the mall when the assailants opened fire. The police who arrived at the scene immediately took Chandan to the hospital, but his life could not be saved. There were several bullet holes in the car. The Toronto police's preliminary findings pointed to the incident as a premeditated murder.

Chandan, who was an employee of LTI Mindtree, came to Canada six years ago. He completed his graduation from Saptagiri College, Bengaluru. Chandan hails from the small hamlet of Thyamagondlu, 47 km from Bengaluru.

Nandakumar, father of the victim, revealed that Chandan last called him on Friday and even yielded to his parents’ long-standing demand to get married. Chandan was planning to return to India for the holidays. Relatives suspect that Chandan's efforts to form a Kannada association in Canada to be behind the murder. The police are yet to confirm this.

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that the process to repatriate the body is in progress. Assistance was sought from the Ministry of External Affairs. Toronto police launched an investigation into the incident. This is the third murder reported in Toronto this year.