12-19-2004, 06:49 PM
இன்று கூட Toronto Star பத்திரிகையில் ஒரு தமிழ் கும்பல் குறித்து ஒரு செய்தி வந்தது.
முழுமையான செய்திகள் ஆங்கிலத்தில் ...
'Bullet' sought around the world
<b>Police track key suspect in March shooting
Wanted man traced to Sri Lanka after woman killed`It was a night of fun that turned into a nightmare,' says father of slain young woman</b>
<b>BOB MITCHELL
STAFF REPORTER</b>
Within hours of Amretta Singh's death, Peel police had a suspect with an intriguing nickname.
Today, nearly nine months later, an international manhunt stretches halfway around the world to Sri Lanka following the trail of the man wanted for first-degree murder in the slaying of Singh, a 20-year-old student.
The suspect's name is Vijayarajah Manickavasagar, a 23-year-old Canadian known as "Bullet."
"We will find him," vowed Rick De Facendis, Peel's acting homicide inspector. "The hunt is on."
Singh was shot to death shortly after being confronted by a hooded man outside her family's Brampton home around 3 a.m. on March 20. After a night of dancing at a club, the victim and her three brothers had run inside to escape three men, who police allege had followed them home after what seemed a trivial incident at the club.
Safely inside the house, Singh was taking off her shoes when a gunman fired shots from the sidewalk, about 10 metres away. One bullet struck her in the mouth, another in her stomach; several others slammed into the walkway wall. She died in hospital a short time later.
Singh had dreamed of becoming a nurse, applying to several community colleges. A few weeks after her death, her parents received confirmation of her acceptance at Humber College.
While homicide investigators didn't know it at the time, the man who would become their prime suspect left Canada within a week of Singh's death under an assumed name, his picture pasted over another photo.
Known to have friends and connections in Montreal, Vancouver, England and Australia, Manickavasagar, also known as Vijay, was tracked to Sri Lanka in early October.
Through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police office in New Delhi, investigators are working with Interpol and Sri Lankan police to find the suspect in the island nation off the southern tip of India.
"We believe he's moving from place to place in Sri Lanka," De Facendis said. "Sri Lanka police have been knocking on doors. The word is out that we are looking for him."
A Canadian citizen, Manickavasagar was 12 when he came to Canada with his family in 1994. They settled in Scarborough but eventually moved to north Etobicoke. The former Kipling Collegiate student was a labourer in a Rexdale factory at the time of the shooting.
"He didn't have a career path," De Facendis said. "He led the life of the street culture.
"Vijay was essentially brought up in Canada. We think he's having a difficult time adjusting to life on the run in Sri Lanka. He's relying on others to escape capture in a country he isn't very familiar with."
Police say Manickavasagar was affiliated with three Sri Lankan gangs in the Greater Toronto Area: the Guilder Boys, the Kipling Boys and the VVT, an off-shoot of the Tamil Tigers, a pro-separatist group in Sri Lanka. De Facendis said his previous run-ins with police were "unspectacular."
"He enjoyed a certain reputation, a certain status among the group he associated with," De Facendis said. "But he was completely unknown to Peel homicide until this happened."
While they widened their search for Manickavasagar, Peel police continued to investigate his associates back in Toronto.
Five alleged associates were arrested in October. Stenwick Hookumchand, 21, Navaneethan Kunananthan, 24, and Jeyaganesh Satkuru, 26, all of Toronto, were charged with first-degree murder.
Prasad Thiruchelvam, 23, and Kajaruban Visvalingam, 25, both of Toronto, were charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Police allege Manickavasagar, Hookumchand and Kunananthan were at the club the night of the shooting, but won't say who was directly involved in the bumping incident that may have sparked the chain of events. Police allege Visvalingam and Thiruchelvam helped Manickavasagar escape from Canada. Thiruchelvam is the only member of the group to be granted bail.
De Facendis won't reveal Satkuru's alleged role in the slaying, except to say he was charged with first-degree murder because he was allegedly a "party to the offence."
Early on, Peel police had been looking for Manickavasagar just for questioning. But after working with Toronto police intelligence and gang units and interviewing dozens of gang members, police believed they had enough evidence to issue a first-degree murder arrest warrant for Manickavasagar on Sept. 7.
For the first 25 to 30 hours after Singh's death, a team of investigators under the direction of homicide Detective Danny Valleau worked around the clock, concentrating on Calypso Hut 2, the club on Melanie Dr. near Steeles Ave. and Torbram Rd. where Singh had been with her brothers.
Based on interviews with "dozens and dozens of people," investigators determined that a man called "Bullet" was in the club with friends that night.
"Nobody saw anything that happened," Valleau said. "But people kept telling us `Bullet' had been there earlier. They said we should talk to him. We immediately had a person of interest with a colourful nickname."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`Young people need to choose their friends more carefully. Who wants to have a friend named Bullet?'
Jairam Singh, victim's father
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calypso Hut 2 was already on the police radar. A dispute there in 1999 had led to the murder of Brampton resident Rajindranath (Raymond) Kanchan, who was followed home and beaten to death by five men.
Back on March 19, many of the club patrons dined on South Asian and Chinese food before the dancing started at 11 p.m. Several bouncers were thoroughly checking patrons at the front door. The club served liquor, but younger patrons weren't allowed anywhere near the bar.
Singh arrived just after 11 with a group of relatives, including her brothers Ashley, 24, Ashby, 22, and Ashe, 16. It was the second time she'd been to the club. Family members said she spent the night dancing to the pounding beat of Caribbean music with her boyfriend Rishi.
Police learned from Singh's family that one of her brothers had bumped into one of the accused in the club, an incident so insignificant no one had thought twice about it."But she wasn't involved in this incident," De Facendis said. "It had nothing to do with her."
Singh's brothers remain too traumatized to talk about that night, but their father, Jairam, said his son Ashby accidentally bumped into the man.
"He was on his way to the bar," said Jairam, 47. "He said he was sorry and that was it."
Jairam said everybody returned to dancing, but one of his nephews told Ashby "these guys were watching him everywhere he went" in the club.
"Ashby went to him and told him again that he was sorry," Jairam said.
"They even shook hands. But this guy was with another person, the guy who is alleged to have shot my daughter."
Jairam said that person became "aggressive" and "went into Ashby's face and told him `If you want trouble, then you're with the right people.'"
Ashby walked away, thinking the incident was over, Jairam said. There was no shouting match, no pushing or shoving, no threats. In fact, investigators say the altercation was so minor only those directly involved even noticed.
The Singhs took a taxi home about 2:30 a.m. after Amretta said goodnight to her boyfriend, who drove to Toronto. It took the Singhs about 25 minutes to get home. They didn't know their taxi was being followed by a red Honda. Police allege Manickavasagar, Hookumchand and Kunananthan were in that car.
Amretta and her brothers noticed the Honda when they got out of the taxi, but they didn't think there was anything unusual. The Singhs, who then walked toward their front door, didn't know the driver's identity but told police two men got out of the Honda.
One man was wearing an orange, hooded sweatshirt, said Jairam, who learned what happened next from his youngest son, who was at the back of the group walking toward the house on Sunforest Dr.
"One of the men shouted, `Yo, yo, wait,'" Jairam said.
Then his son heard what sounded like a gun clicking.
"Then he said, `Oh my God, he's got a gun,'" Jairam said.
They ran toward the house. Struggling initially, the Singhs managed to open the front door and get inside. When the door closed, Amretta began to take off her shoes.
Jairam, who was sleeping upstairs with his wife, heard the shots. "It sounded like caps going off," he said. "Then I heard the screams."
He ran downstairs. Gravely wounded, Amretta was lying under some drywall that had been propped against a wall. Jairam picked up his bleeding daughter. He cradled her in his lap.
Looking back on that horrific night, Jairam said he hopes everyone involved in his daughter's death will "be punished" for what they've done.
"This guy (the shooter) is such a coward," Jairam said. "Young people need to choose their friends more carefully. Who wants to have a friend named Bullet? They were all out having fun. It was a night of fun that turned into a nightmare."
De Facendis said police believe the shooter was aiming at another target.
"The bottom line is, we believe it was never his intention to kill Amretta. But we're alleging he fired randomly at the door, knowing individuals had just gotten into the home."
Jairam will never forget those horrifying last moments while his daughter lay in his arms.
"My daughter was such a sweetheart. I know everybody's daughter is nice, but mine was a wonderful person.
"Having your daughter die in your arms is the last thing you would ever think would ever happen," he said.
"They thought they were safe. But they weren't. Who would ever think you would be shot inside your home?"
Thanx: <img src='http://www.thestar.com/images/star/nav/star_banner.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
முழுமையான செய்திகள் ஆங்கிலத்தில் ...
'Bullet' sought around the world
<b>Police track key suspect in March shooting
Wanted man traced to Sri Lanka after woman killed`It was a night of fun that turned into a nightmare,' says father of slain young woman</b>
<b>BOB MITCHELL
STAFF REPORTER</b>
Within hours of Amretta Singh's death, Peel police had a suspect with an intriguing nickname.
Today, nearly nine months later, an international manhunt stretches halfway around the world to Sri Lanka following the trail of the man wanted for first-degree murder in the slaying of Singh, a 20-year-old student.
The suspect's name is Vijayarajah Manickavasagar, a 23-year-old Canadian known as "Bullet."
"We will find him," vowed Rick De Facendis, Peel's acting homicide inspector. "The hunt is on."
Singh was shot to death shortly after being confronted by a hooded man outside her family's Brampton home around 3 a.m. on March 20. After a night of dancing at a club, the victim and her three brothers had run inside to escape three men, who police allege had followed them home after what seemed a trivial incident at the club.
Safely inside the house, Singh was taking off her shoes when a gunman fired shots from the sidewalk, about 10 metres away. One bullet struck her in the mouth, another in her stomach; several others slammed into the walkway wall. She died in hospital a short time later.
Singh had dreamed of becoming a nurse, applying to several community colleges. A few weeks after her death, her parents received confirmation of her acceptance at Humber College.
While homicide investigators didn't know it at the time, the man who would become their prime suspect left Canada within a week of Singh's death under an assumed name, his picture pasted over another photo.
Known to have friends and connections in Montreal, Vancouver, England and Australia, Manickavasagar, also known as Vijay, was tracked to Sri Lanka in early October.
Through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police office in New Delhi, investigators are working with Interpol and Sri Lankan police to find the suspect in the island nation off the southern tip of India.
"We believe he's moving from place to place in Sri Lanka," De Facendis said. "Sri Lanka police have been knocking on doors. The word is out that we are looking for him."
A Canadian citizen, Manickavasagar was 12 when he came to Canada with his family in 1994. They settled in Scarborough but eventually moved to north Etobicoke. The former Kipling Collegiate student was a labourer in a Rexdale factory at the time of the shooting.
"He didn't have a career path," De Facendis said. "He led the life of the street culture.
"Vijay was essentially brought up in Canada. We think he's having a difficult time adjusting to life on the run in Sri Lanka. He's relying on others to escape capture in a country he isn't very familiar with."
Police say Manickavasagar was affiliated with three Sri Lankan gangs in the Greater Toronto Area: the Guilder Boys, the Kipling Boys and the VVT, an off-shoot of the Tamil Tigers, a pro-separatist group in Sri Lanka. De Facendis said his previous run-ins with police were "unspectacular."
"He enjoyed a certain reputation, a certain status among the group he associated with," De Facendis said. "But he was completely unknown to Peel homicide until this happened."
While they widened their search for Manickavasagar, Peel police continued to investigate his associates back in Toronto.
Five alleged associates were arrested in October. Stenwick Hookumchand, 21, Navaneethan Kunananthan, 24, and Jeyaganesh Satkuru, 26, all of Toronto, were charged with first-degree murder.
Prasad Thiruchelvam, 23, and Kajaruban Visvalingam, 25, both of Toronto, were charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Police allege Manickavasagar, Hookumchand and Kunananthan were at the club the night of the shooting, but won't say who was directly involved in the bumping incident that may have sparked the chain of events. Police allege Visvalingam and Thiruchelvam helped Manickavasagar escape from Canada. Thiruchelvam is the only member of the group to be granted bail.
De Facendis won't reveal Satkuru's alleged role in the slaying, except to say he was charged with first-degree murder because he was allegedly a "party to the offence."
Early on, Peel police had been looking for Manickavasagar just for questioning. But after working with Toronto police intelligence and gang units and interviewing dozens of gang members, police believed they had enough evidence to issue a first-degree murder arrest warrant for Manickavasagar on Sept. 7.
For the first 25 to 30 hours after Singh's death, a team of investigators under the direction of homicide Detective Danny Valleau worked around the clock, concentrating on Calypso Hut 2, the club on Melanie Dr. near Steeles Ave. and Torbram Rd. where Singh had been with her brothers.
Based on interviews with "dozens and dozens of people," investigators determined that a man called "Bullet" was in the club with friends that night.
"Nobody saw anything that happened," Valleau said. "But people kept telling us `Bullet' had been there earlier. They said we should talk to him. We immediately had a person of interest with a colourful nickname."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`Young people need to choose their friends more carefully. Who wants to have a friend named Bullet?'
Jairam Singh, victim's father
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calypso Hut 2 was already on the police radar. A dispute there in 1999 had led to the murder of Brampton resident Rajindranath (Raymond) Kanchan, who was followed home and beaten to death by five men.
Back on March 19, many of the club patrons dined on South Asian and Chinese food before the dancing started at 11 p.m. Several bouncers were thoroughly checking patrons at the front door. The club served liquor, but younger patrons weren't allowed anywhere near the bar.
Singh arrived just after 11 with a group of relatives, including her brothers Ashley, 24, Ashby, 22, and Ashe, 16. It was the second time she'd been to the club. Family members said she spent the night dancing to the pounding beat of Caribbean music with her boyfriend Rishi.
Police learned from Singh's family that one of her brothers had bumped into one of the accused in the club, an incident so insignificant no one had thought twice about it."But she wasn't involved in this incident," De Facendis said. "It had nothing to do with her."
Singh's brothers remain too traumatized to talk about that night, but their father, Jairam, said his son Ashby accidentally bumped into the man.
"He was on his way to the bar," said Jairam, 47. "He said he was sorry and that was it."
Jairam said everybody returned to dancing, but one of his nephews told Ashby "these guys were watching him everywhere he went" in the club.
"Ashby went to him and told him again that he was sorry," Jairam said.
"They even shook hands. But this guy was with another person, the guy who is alleged to have shot my daughter."
Jairam said that person became "aggressive" and "went into Ashby's face and told him `If you want trouble, then you're with the right people.'"
Ashby walked away, thinking the incident was over, Jairam said. There was no shouting match, no pushing or shoving, no threats. In fact, investigators say the altercation was so minor only those directly involved even noticed.
The Singhs took a taxi home about 2:30 a.m. after Amretta said goodnight to her boyfriend, who drove to Toronto. It took the Singhs about 25 minutes to get home. They didn't know their taxi was being followed by a red Honda. Police allege Manickavasagar, Hookumchand and Kunananthan were in that car.
Amretta and her brothers noticed the Honda when they got out of the taxi, but they didn't think there was anything unusual. The Singhs, who then walked toward their front door, didn't know the driver's identity but told police two men got out of the Honda.
One man was wearing an orange, hooded sweatshirt, said Jairam, who learned what happened next from his youngest son, who was at the back of the group walking toward the house on Sunforest Dr.
"One of the men shouted, `Yo, yo, wait,'" Jairam said.
Then his son heard what sounded like a gun clicking.
"Then he said, `Oh my God, he's got a gun,'" Jairam said.
They ran toward the house. Struggling initially, the Singhs managed to open the front door and get inside. When the door closed, Amretta began to take off her shoes.
Jairam, who was sleeping upstairs with his wife, heard the shots. "It sounded like caps going off," he said. "Then I heard the screams."
He ran downstairs. Gravely wounded, Amretta was lying under some drywall that had been propped against a wall. Jairam picked up his bleeding daughter. He cradled her in his lap.
Looking back on that horrific night, Jairam said he hopes everyone involved in his daughter's death will "be punished" for what they've done.
"This guy (the shooter) is such a coward," Jairam said. "Young people need to choose their friends more carefully. Who wants to have a friend named Bullet? They were all out having fun. It was a night of fun that turned into a nightmare."
De Facendis said police believe the shooter was aiming at another target.
"The bottom line is, we believe it was never his intention to kill Amretta. But we're alleging he fired randomly at the door, knowing individuals had just gotten into the home."
Jairam will never forget those horrifying last moments while his daughter lay in his arms.
"My daughter was such a sweetheart. I know everybody's daughter is nice, but mine was a wonderful person.
"Having your daughter die in your arms is the last thing you would ever think would ever happen," he said.
"They thought they were safe. But they weren't. Who would ever think you would be shot inside your home?"
Thanx: <img src='http://www.thestar.com/images/star/nav/star_banner.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<span style='font-size:20pt;line-height:100%'>Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.</span>