By Surbhi Gogia
Harmandeep Kaur arrived in Canada from Kapurthala, Punjab, in 2015 with an aim to become a paramedic and save lives. But tragically she could not save herself from the fatal attack at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. Kaur was working as a security guard at UBCO. She was attacked by a man on the campus and succumbed to her injuries 2 days after the attack.
Her untimely tragic death has sent shock waves across Kelowna’s Indo-Canadian community raising questions about security of young girls working in security companies. The community is also questioning presence of the mentally unstable worker on the university’s campus who allegedly attacked Kaur.
Kelowna RCMP said that assault on the security guard at UBCO, was being investigated as a homicide.
On February 26, 2022 the RCMP reported that “a security guard had been assaulted while working on the campus. The victim, a 24-year-old woman, has succumbed to her injuries sustained as a result of this incident.”
“Shortly after the incident occurred, the suspect was identified and he was apprehended under the Mental Health Act. He remains in hospital and is possibly facing murder charges,” said Cpl. Tammy Lobb, Kelowna RCMP.
Although Kelowna RCMP has not officially released the identity of the victim of the attack, the Kelowna’s Indo-Canadian community including city’s Sikh Temple and Kaur’s friend’s and family have stepped out to speak and demand justice for her.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started by Kaur’s cousin, Kuljit Pabla, for Kaur’s parents, who arrived in Canada from Punjab after hearing the tragic loss of their daughter on March 2. The donations are pouring in generously for Kaur and her family from across Canada. Within few days campaign has been able to collect more than $50,000 dollars for the cause. “The money raised will be essential in helping her family with travel and funeral costs as well as potential legal costs to pursue justice for her,” wrote Pabla.
Pabla informed that Kaur came to Canada in 2015 with a dream of attending a university and becoming a paramedic. She first studied at Columbia College in Vancouver and moved to Kelowna in 2018.
Kaur had received her PR this January and was incredibly excited to have her parents come visit her this April.
“She risked and lost her young life while patrolling the very grounds that she had hoped to one day walk as a student. There are no words to describe how much Harmandeep will be missed by her mother, father, and brother, as well as all of her extended family and friends,” said Pabla.
He also wrote that the community wants justice for Harmandeep and “her senseless, unprovoked, and devastating death. Her life was taken far too soon.”
Not only Kaur’s friends and family, but the community too has also stepped up to demand justice for her. There are many unanswered questions Kelowna’s community leaders are asking.
Paramjit Singh Patara, Vice President of the Okanagan Sikh Temple said that the temple’s community was shocked when they heard about Kaur’s death from the students who regularly come to the Gurdwara. Although there is not confirmation or information on how Kaur was attacked, Patara said that what he heard from Kaur’s friends that she was attacked on her head.
He also said that as community they will appeal to the security companies to offer extra training and security to girls working during night duties.
He was also concerned about the presence of a mentally unstable worker on a university campus. “The lawyer is saying he was mentally unstable. We as community want to know why a mentally unstable person was working in there? It is a big security issue because there are many more students there.”
Kelowna City Councillor Mohini Singh also said she wanted answers to some tough questions.
“Why was a 24-year-old young woman working the night shift alone at the university. It doesn’t matter her cultural background, why was she alone. Even a young male shouldn’t be alone,” Singh told Castanet News. “If this person, the alleged attacker, had a mental health issue, or whatever issue he had, why was he working at the university where we have so many young people. How did he get clearance to work there.”
Although both RCMP and university itself have assured there was no risk to students’ security. “I want to stress that this was an isolated incident that did not involve students and that does not pose an ongoing risk to campus safety,” wrote Lesley Cormack, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal. “We are devastated that something like this would happen on our campus. My heart and my thoughts, and those of everyone at UBCO, go to the family. I understand that there will be many questions around this incident and we are working very closely with the RCMP and our partners to provide any assistance required in the investigation. There will be plenty of opportunity to try to understand the circumstances of this tragedy over the coming weeks but our immediate priority is to support the family and individuals affected,” she said.
Kaur’s parents have already arrived in Canada. They are set to begin journey to demand justice for their daughter. And we as community hope that no more Indian parents set their foot on this land to deal with such tragedy but always to celebrate their children’s achievements as Kaur’s parents deserved.
