Friends of a Kelowna international student who was swarmed and beaten last year as he got off a city bus are shocked after learning criminal charges aren’t going to materialize.
Gagandeep Singh was only three months into his new life in Canada on March 17, 2023, when a group of teens confronted him at a bus stop in Kelowna’s Rutland neighbourhood.
A conflict ensued, Singh’s turban was ripped from his head and he was dragged, punched, left battered and concussed.
The RCMP, who had its hate crime team investigate the incident, found enough evidence to support a call for criminal charges, they said in an email this week. However, the BC Prosecution Service said that what they were presented with did not meet the standard they use for charges to be laid.
“Assessing the strength of the case the Crown must also consider the likelihood that viable defences will succeed,” the BC Prosecution Service said in an emailed statement. “In this case, the prosecutor concluded that there was no substantial likelihood of conviction and did not approve the charge.”
That decision, according to Singh’s friend, Manik Dhir, has disappointed not only the victim but also the Sikh community to which Singh belonged.
“As a community, you’re hoping for justice to prevail, which I’m not sure is the case at this point,” Dhir said.
“I’m hoping there’s some clarity and some transparency that becomes available from a community standpoint … where we can better understand what happened, what transpired and why were charges not laid?”
To Dhir and others, the incident was a targeted assault, a hate crime against an international student who had come to this country for greater opportunity.
“His turban was ripped off his head, he was dragged by his hair on concrete … and, I believe, from what I recall from the incident, they weren’t able to find his turban either, because they took it with them,” he said.
“I don’t think it matters if you’re black, brown, grey, or yellow. At the end of the day, you should feel safe taking public transportation,” Dhir said.
Singh has moved from Kelowna and is now living in another province. For those who supported him in “his darkest hour,” he remains thankful, Kelowna councillor Mohini Singh said.
The councillor is also disappointed that charges were not laid, but is happy to know that police did what they could on the young man’s behalf.
“I must admit, the RCMP did everything it possibly could to support him,” she said.
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