AMRITSAR: A 22-year-old Punjabi girl student, who was pursuing a hospitality management course in British Columbia, tragically lost her life after a tree fell on her at James Lake where she had gone with friends for a late-night bonfire.
The Canadian media reports quoting Royal Canadian Mounted Police say that Ritika lived in Kelowna, British Columbia, and had died on December 7. The incident has been deemed nonsuspicious, says the media reports quoting RCMP.
The media reports also quote that a common friend Amarjit Lalli who is trying to raise funds to send the body of Ritika back to India.
Balwinder (Bob) Heer, based in Surrey, is organizing a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe on behalf of Lalli to repatriate the body of Ritika Rajput to her home in India. He writes: "We are reaching out to you during an incredibly difficult time, with heavy hearts and a deep sense of loss. Ritika Rajput, a 22-year-old international student, was a compassionate, hardworking young woman whose presence touched the lives of many."
A local resident Jaspal Singh informed that Ritika passed away on December 7 in Kelowna, British Columbia, after a tree collapsed and struck her in a fatal accident and there is a pall of gloom on her family back home in India.
Quoting his local friends, he said that Ritika's family in India comes from a low-income background. Her mother, Kiran Rajput, stitches clothes to make ends meet, and the family had to take out a loan to send Ritika to Canada for her education. "This tragedy has left Ritika's family devastated, and they do not have the financial means to bring their daughter's body back from Canada," said Jaspal.
Balwinder says “This campaign will also help pay off Rittika’s educational debt, legal costs, and other unforeseen financial challenges. As a community, we have the opportunity to come together and support Rittika’s mother in their time of need”.
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