Punjab man guilty of fatal car crash in Canada deported to India

IANS

Toronto, January 30

A 26-year-old man hailing from Punjab has been deported to India less than a year after he was found guilty of a car crash that killed a woman and her elderly mother in the Canadian province of Alberta.

Bipinjot Gill, who arrived in Canada in 2016 on a student visa, sped through a red light in Calgary on May 18, 2019, killing Uzma Afzal, 31, and her mother, Bilquees Begum, 65, on the spot.

He left Canada after his attempts to have a deportation order stayed were rejected by a Federal Court judge this month, the Calgary Herald newspaper reported.

"The applicant committed and was convicted for a serious crime. Lives were lost. The families of the victims will never see family members again," Judge Shirzad Ahmed said in his ruling.

He also dismissed Gill's claims that he would face harm if returned to India by not being able to access treatment for his mental health issues.

"And while (Gill) has struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues, he has been found criminally responsible for his conduct by a competent court of law."

Gill, who was 21 at the time of the accident, was behind the wheel of a Hyundai that crashed into a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of Metis Trail and 128 Avenue N.E. in the early morning hours of May 18, 2019.

While the two women were pronounced dead on the spot, the driver of the Toyota, Begum's husband, and Uzma's husband were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

He was convicted of the double fatality case in April 2023 and sentenced in November to a term of house arrest, 300 hours of community service, and one year of probation.

Three months after the accident, Gill was also convicted of dangerous driving and fleeing from a peace officer in August 2019, the judge noted.

He was issued a deportation order on September 6, 2022, after being found "inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality," The Herald reported.

Gill's lawyer said his client ran out of time in his bid to stay the deportation order and acted without legal counsel for too long.

A native of Punjab, Gill earned a two-year diploma from Bow Valley College in 2018.

His parents and brother are in Canada on temporary visas, while his uncle and grandparents are Canadian citizens.

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