‘He was going out to party with friends’: Brother says he spoke to Chirag Antil 30 mins before he was shot dead in Canada

“Chirag completed his graduation from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, New Delhi. He wanted to go to Canada to pursue higher education and work there. He got admission in an MBA programme and completed it from University Canada West, British Columbia. He had recently picked up a job as a supervisor in a security agency there. I last spoke with him barely 30 minutes before he was shot dead,” Romit Antil said.

“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 pm 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 added.

Romit is pursuing his Ph D in Sonipat.

“I received an email from Canadian police that shook our world. I made frantic calls to Chirag’s friends and people who we know in Vancouver. His (Chirag’s) flatmates told me that they heard some cracker-bursting sounds and thought that somebody might be bursting crackers. Later, when they started looking for Chirag, they found that he was not there. Their another friend who visited them saw a large number of police personnel around Chirag’s car and informed them about the incident. When they all rushed to the spot, they learnt that Chirag was shot dead. Police did not share any information with them,” he said.

Romit said that “nobody from the state government, nor from any ministry of the central government” had so far approached Chirag’s family. “We do not know where to go or what to do? I have made several calls to the phone numbers that Canadian police shared in their mail, but they are not revealing any details. Our friends who are in touch with the Canadian police are also not able to get anything. Our friends went to the neighbours to see if they could see CCTV footage, but nobody cooperated and they were shown the door,” he added.

Online fundraiser

Romit said that he had asked Chirag’s friends to share the expenses required to get Chirag’s body back to India. “They told me that they have already started a fundraiser online,” he said.

“If you are in Vancouver and able to offer any support or help, please reach out to us. Your help in this matter would be deeply appreciated by Chirag’s family and friends, as we work towards bringing closure and peace during this heartbreaking time. Thank you for any help you can provide,” the fundraiser mentioned.

India’s consulate in Vancouver posted on X that it “has learnt with great sorrow the shooting and killing of an Indian national, Mr Chirag Antil, living in Vancouver”, adding that it had approached the Canadian authorities for more information.

PM Modi’s intervention sought

Chirag’s family has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help bring his body back to India.

Talking to The Indian Express, NSUI national president Varun Chaudhary, who has taken up Chirag’s case with the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Chirag Antil’s brother Romit is in touch with me. The family is devastated. I am also writing a letter to the External Affairs Minister Mr S Jaishankar so that Antil’s body can be brought back. Antil’s family told me that they are not getting any support from anywhere and even the police there in Canada are not revealing any details.”

Choudhary wrote to Jaishankar seeking the external affairs ministry’s intervention, support and assistance to the bereaved family.

Sharing details of the email that he received, Romit said, “We only got a mail from the Canadian police’s “Major Crime Section – Investigation Division – Homicide Team 1”, in which they wrote, ‘Hi Romit, Your brother Chirag Antil born August 2, 1999 was murdered at approximately 11:00 pm Vancouver time in the area of the 200 block of East 55th Avenue. We are early in our investigation and do not know who murdered your brother and will be collecting evidence. An autopsy will be done next week, after that the body will be released and you can make arrangements to transport him home to India’.”

In the same mail, sent by Detective Constable Mark Lobel, the Canadian police shared the case’s reference number. “I will update you with any information and when the autopsy is complete. Once the autopsy is done you can call the BC Coroners Service,” it concluded.

The Consulate General of India in Vancouver wrote on X, “@cgivancouver has learnt with great sorrow about the shooting and killing of an Indian national, Mr. Chirag Antil, living in #Vancouver. We have approached the concerned Canadian authorities for more information in this regard. @HCI_Ottawa @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar”.