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A family friend, who is assisting with a fundraising campaign to send Rittika Rajput’s body back to Punjab, said she was from a low-income family and her mother works as a seamstress
The incident took place last weekend on December 7, when Rittika Rajput was enjoying a bonfire with her friends at James Lake near Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. (Image: GoFundMe)
A 22-year-old student from Punjab was killed in Canada’s British Columbia province, as a tree fell on her while she was visiting a lake area with her friends.
The incident took place last weekend on December 7, when Rittika Rajput was enjoying a bonfire with her friends at James Lake near Kelowna in British Columbia (BC). Her friends have now initiated a fundraising campaign to send her body back to India.
Rajput’s death was confirmed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Officers said they were called to the scene just before 3 am, as per a report by CBC. Her family friend told a Canadian radio channel that she and her friends were having a late-night bonfire at the recreation site when a gust of wind came and they heard a crack.
“The girls kind of got up and started running. One went one way and, unfortunately, Rittika went the wrong way and the tree ended up on top – is what we’ve been told,” Amarjit Lalli told Radio West guest host Brady Strachan.
Lalli said she had been studying hospitality management via online courses from a BC college and lived in Kelowna. He said he, too, lives in Kelowna and visited the site at James Lake where she died.
He said he did not personally know Rajput, but had met her parents through a relative when he was visiting India last year. He is now assisting with the GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her body to be sent back home.
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The family friend further said the student belongs to a low-income family and her mother, Kiran Rajput, works as a seamstress. He said she took out a loan to send her daughter to Canada, hoping she will lead a better life.
“The mom’s not taking it too well. I don’t think she’s fully accepted that she’s passed on… they want the body back in India and I think they just want closure,” he told CBC.
According to the GoFundMe campaign launched for Rajput, she was a “kind hearted and hard working young woman”.
“Rittika was not only a loving daughter but a caring sister to her siblings. Coming from a low income family, her mother, Kiran Rajput, worked day and night stitching clothes for people to make their ends meet. Kiran also took out a loan of thousands of dollars for Rittika to send her to Canada and pay her educational fees. This unforeseen accident has left Rittika’s parents shattered and struggling to cope with this devastating loss,” the campaign page stated.
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The appeal mentioned that Kiran Rajput was under debt and did not have funds to bring Rittika’s body back to Punjab. “This campaign will also help pay off Rittika’s educational debt, legal costs, and other unforeseen financial challenges,” it added.
