Who was Chandan Kumar? Indian Techie shot dead in Toronto after parents 'pleaded' him to return

Toronto: A 37-year-old Indian-origin tech professional from Karnataka was shot dead by unidentified men in the parking lot of a busy shopping mall in Canada's Toronto on Saturday.

Who was the victim?

The unidentified assailants fired multiple rounds at the victim, who has been identified as Chanda Kumar Raja Nandakumar, a resident of Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area and a native of Thyamagondlu village near Nelamangala.

The victim, who was a computer science graduate from Sapthagiri College, Bengaluru, had been living and working in Canada for the past six years.

He was working with LTI Mindtree, a subsidiary of L&T, before working with Cognizant in Bengaluru.

Where did the incident happen?

In a statement on Sunday, the Toronto Police said that the shooting took place around 3.30 pm local time near the entrance of the Woodbine Shopping Centre, close to Rexdale Boulevard. 

According to police, Chandan was sitting inside his SUV when unidentified assailants opened fire. The attackers fled the spot in a vehicle soon after the shooting.

In a statement, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) said "Officers rushed to the scene after receiving reports of gunfire and found Chandan with multiple gunshot wounds."

The victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but succumbed to the injuries.

Visuals taken from the scene show a white car riddled with bullet holes in the windshield. 

Police, according to the initial findings, believe that the incident was a "targeted" attack. No arrests have been made so far, and a homicide investigation is currently underway.

TPS Inspector Errol Watson said, "I can understand how a shooting like this, especially at a mall, can cause concern for the safety of the public."

What are the relatives saying on killing?

Chandan's parents, who live in Thyamagondlu, about 47 km from Bengaluru, are struggling to accept the sudden loss of their only son. 

Nandakumar, the father of the victim, said "We spoke to him last Friday. He said he would take leave and come home this summer. We were planning for his marriage. We are completely shattered."

According to family members, Chandan had repeatedly postponed his return to India due to work commitments. 

"We had never expected this, not even in our dreams. We had been telling him to come back as it has been six to seven years since he left for Canada but he did not listen to us," his father said.

"Had he listened to us and returned, he would have been with us now," Nandakumar said.

The victim's mother claims that his efforts to form a Kannada association in Toronto could be the reason behind his killing.

The victims uncle Murali Krishna said "Wet are was unable to understand the motive behind the killing. He built a stable life abroad and was working hard. He was the only son. We don't know why this happened."