A student from India was shot dead on Friday night in the city’s Sunset neighbourhood.
Vancouver Police officers were called to East 55 Avenue and Main Street around 11 p.m. on Friday, April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil, 24, was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area.
Police said that no arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call VPD’s Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500.
The victim was identified as a student from India by Varun Choudhary, national president of the National Students’ Union of India, who tweeted on Saturday: “Urgent attention regarding the murder of Chirag Antil, an Indian student in Vancouver, Canada. We urge the Ministry of External Affairs to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and ensure that justice is swiftly served. Additionally, we request the Ministry to extend all necessary support and assistance to the family of the deceased during this difficult time.”
The Indian Express reported on Monday that Chirag’s brother Romit in Sonipat (Haryana province) told them that the victim had gone to Canada in September 2022 on a study visa.
Romit told the Indian Express that Chirag was sharing an apartment with friends and was shot dead near it.
Romit said that Chirag graduated from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College (Delhi University). He completed an MBA program from University Canada West in Vancouver and had started working as a supervisor in a security agency.
Romit said he had spoken to his brother just half an hour before he was shot dead.
He told the Indian Express: “Chirag had completed his day’s work and reached home. He had parked his car behind the place where he was staying with his friends. It might be around 10:30 p.m. when he spoke with me and told me that he was going out to party with his friends. He sounded very happy. A few hours later, we received the information that he was shot dead.”
He said after he received an email from police in Canada, he frantically called Chirag’s friends and people he knew in Vancouver. He was told that his roommates heard some shots but mistook them for crackers. A friend who was visiting the roommates told them that he saw a large number of police officers around Chirag’s car. They all rushed to the spot where they learned that Chirag had been shot. Police did not share any information with them and neighbours refused to show them any CCTV footage.
