“We were told that she (Vidhi) was stabbed to death on the spot… But she tried her best to fight back and save herself. She succumbed to severe injuries, but she also injured her attacker…”

According to her family, Vidhi was pursuing business management in Hamilton, a port city in Canada’s Ontario province, while also working part-time to support herself. She had also enrolled in a “personal support worker” (PSW) honours course. They said she had moved to St. Catharines just 15 days before the incident.

Vidhi’s father said the family thought that their daughter might have gone away on an ‘excursion’ and, therefore, was unreachable. “We used to speak once every few days over video calls, but she promptly replied to text messages… When we kept trying to contact her and the text messages went undelivered, we thought she may have gone on some excursion somewhere without connectivity, but we were anxious… We had no idea about what happened to our daughter,” Kalpesh said, struggling to hold back his tears.

Vidhi had spoken to her father just a day before the attack.

Excited and hopeful, she told him that she was preparing to apply for a work permit and permanent residency in Canada after completing her education. “She was confident that after clearing an exam, she was going to secure PR (permanent residency) soon… I told her, ‘Very good, beta’.”

“She had shifted from Hamilton to St. Catharines about fifteen days before the incident… So, maybe, people there were not that familiar with her. She was determined to become independent and create a secure future for herself and her loved ones…” Kalpesh added.

In Borsad, grief engulfed the family home as people poured in to offer their condolences. Vidhi’s mother was in no state to talk.

The family has appealed to the Indian government to help bring Vidhi’s remains back to India at the earliest for the final rites. Kalpesh also demanded a stronger protection mechanism for Indian students living abroad.

As per a May 18 release of Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS), the officers of the “1 District (St. Catharines/Thorold) (on May 15) had responded to a residence in the area of Lakeshore Road and Lake Street in the city of St. Catharines for reports of two people without vital signs. Upon arrival, one adult female was located deceased within the residence. An adult male was transported to a local hospital for treatment. His injuries are expected to be non-life-threatening…”

The Canadian police then released another statement stating that the attacker, Joshua St Omer, a 40-year-old from St. Catharines, had been arrested for second-degree murder.

Gujarat cabinet minister and Borsad MLA Raman Solanki visited the grieving family and offered his condolences and support. Speaking to the media later, Solanki described Vidhi as an intelligent and much-loved daughter whose death had left the entire family shattered. “The family is going through immense pain. I am personally saddened that such an incident has happened to a young girl from our state,” he said.

The minister added that the family’s foremost concern now was to bring Vidhi’s body back to India at the earliest so that they could perform her final rites. Solanki said he immediately informed the chief minister’s office to initiate the required procedures. “Since the matter involves another country, the process is slightly different and takes coordination at multiple levels. We are making every effort to ensure that the formalities are completed quickly, and the body is handed over to the family as soon as possible,” he said.

Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues. Expertise: Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including: Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground. Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure. Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case). Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions. Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More

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