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In Canada, 23-year-old Punjab woman strangled by partner, police say
In police parlance, intimate partner violence is also known as spousal or domestic violence and is described as “gender-based violence caused by a current or former intimate partner or spouse”.
Damanpreet was a native of Lal Kalan village of Samrala in Ludhiana district, and had gone to Canada on study visa around five years ago. (Express Photo)
A 23-year-old Indian-origin woman from Punjab was allegedly strangled to death by her live-in partner, also an Indian national from Delhi, in Canada’s Edmonton, as per the local police.
The accused, identified as Ritesh Kumar, 22, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder of Damanpreet Kaur, in what the Edmonton police, described as an “intimate partner homicide”.
Damanpreet was a native of Lal Kalan village of Samrala in Ludhiana district, and had gone to Canada on study visa around five years ago. She was the only child of her parents, who had taken loans to send her to Canada.
According to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), “On July 9, 2026, at approximately 6:44 pm, Southeast Branch patrol officers responded to a call for an unresponsive female with suspicious injuries at a residence in the Silverberry neighbourhood. An adult male was taken into custody shortly thereafter. EMS responded, treated and transported the 23-year-old female to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she sadly passed away on Sunday, July 12, 2026.”
“The Edmonton Medical Examiner’s Office completed an autopsy on July 14, 2026, and determined Damanpreet Kaur died as a result of homicide. The cause of death, which was withheld at the time for investigative reasons, was strangulation. Ritish Kumar was arrested on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, and charged with second degree murder. This death is considered an intimate partner homicide. Police are not seeking any additional suspects at this time,” it further said.
In police parlance, intimate partner violence is also known as spousal or domestic violence and is described as “gender-based violence caused by a current or former intimate partner or spouse”.
In Ludhiana, Damanpreet’s family has been left devastated. They told the local media that they were not in the condition to speak and were waiting for her mortal remains to perform last rites.
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Jagjit Singh, panch member of the village panchayat said: “The family is financially very weak and they had spent all their means to send their daughter abroad. She was their only child. The family also doesn’t own much land. She was a bright girl and all their hopes were pinned on her to repay the debt they had taken to send her to Canada. The government should help them to bring her body home for last rites. She is survived by her paternal grandparents and parents.”
As per reports in the Canadian media, a GoFundMe has been launched to help transport Damanpreet’s body back to India.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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