Indian student killed in Canada was ‘assaulted by 10

By the time Gurkirat Singh Manocha boarded a flight to Canada in early 2024, his plan was already fully formed.

One year at Northern Lights College in Fort St.

John, British Columbia; a postgraduate diploma in business management; then back to India, to his father’s food supply business in Ujjain, equipped with his new credentials and a clearer sense of how to grow what the family had spent years building.

However, he would never make it to graduation.

On the night of March 14, Gurkirat was allegedly attacked by a group of 10-12 people in Fort St.

John, assaulted and then run over by a vehicle.

He was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, but he did not survive.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested all the accused.

The postmortem report, which will formally determine the cause of death and guide prosecution, is still pending.

Fort St.

John, in the northeastern corner of British Columbia, is a small city of roughly 22,000 people.

Gurkirat attended classes four days a week and worked the remaining three.

He had taken a job at a local Walmart store.

His elder brother, Prabkirat Singh, who lives in Raipur, said the family was told that Gurkirat had been taken along by a group of fellow students after work — routine socialising, the kind of evening that doesn’t ordinarily require a second thought.

What followed is still being pieced together by investigators.

A dispute, accounts suggest, escalated into a confrontation.

The confrontation became an assault.

A vehicle was involved.

“We were told a group of boys beat him and then ran him over,” Prabkirat said, adding, “Around 10-12 people were involved.”
In Ujjain, the family is now waiting on paperwork.

The repatriation of a body from Canada to India is a procedural undertaking that can take up substantial time over death certificates, consular involvement, embalming requirements, and the documentation of the legal status of the remains while an investigation is active.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has promised to provide assistance to the family.

Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh.

With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.

Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India.

In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.

Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.

Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings.

He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).

Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park.

He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.

Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.

Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.

Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.

Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.

Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.

Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.

Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ...

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