LINK photographer Sukhwant Singh Dhillon, who took photos at both incidents, told this newspaper that police were going around the neighbourhood and nearby businesses, seeking information which could lead them to the arsonist and accused killer of the victim who died in the house where Nanjar Dhesi, who died the same day after she fell out of a bus that started rolling backwards down a hill on Ross Street in front of the Sikh temple, lived.
SOUTH VANCOUVER – Much was made of two deaths from the same Indo-Canadian family in South Vancouver where an elderly Indo-Canadian woman died in a freak bus-rolling incident in front of the Ross Street Sikh temple but it turns out that the other victim was an aboriginal man who died in her family’s basement from deliberately set fire.
It turns out the man was a tenant in the Indo-Canadian owned house and is not related to the family. He died as a result of the basement being set on fire and now the Vancouver police are investigating his death as murder.
LINK photographer Sukhwant Singh Dhillon, who took photos at both incidents, told this newspaper that police were going around the neighbourhood and nearby businesses, seeking information that could lead them to the arsonist and accused killer.
Police confirmed that the victim in the basement of the house died due to a deadly house fire caused by arson. They said the age, gender and race of the victim will be released following an autopsy by the BC Coroners Service.
Nanjar Dhesi, 75, died after she fell out of a bus that started rolling backwards down a hill on Ross Street.
Dhesi, a volunteer for the Ross Street Sikh Temple, was boarding to go on an annual group trip to Harrison Hot Springs when the vehicle started to move.
It was initially believed Dhesi suffered only minor injuries but she died en route to the hospital. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
More than 20 people lived in the home, according to Dhesi’s niece, Rajwant Toor. She said they’re all now staying with relatives.
“This time is really bad for us,” said Toor. “One thing is our aunt passed away, and the other thing is our house burned down, and now they tell us [there’s] a body found downstairs.”
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Major Crime Section at (604) 717-2500.
