Body of Jalandhar student who drowned in Canada still not home due to pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the process of bringing back the body of a 20-year-old Jalandhar resident who had drowned in Canada on June 16.

20-year-old Shivam Arora’s family is waiting for his body so that his last rites can be performed.

Shivam, a resident of Jalandhar’s Satkarnagar, had gone to Canada on student visa in January, 2019. He was pursuing a diploma course.

Shivam’s father, Sanjeev Kumar, said, “Shivam had gone to the lake with four others and had drowned while saving his friend.”

“Since his death, we have been appealing the Canadian embassy and local politicians to assist us. However, documentation is still underway. My son had an assurance policy and authorities had told us that they will bear all expenses for transporting his body to India but we are still waiting,” his father said.

APPEALED LEADER’S

t my family and I cannot wait any longer to see our son one last time. We have also appealed the Indian government and BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna to pursue the matter with Canadian government to hasten the process,” he said.

Kumar said he had taken a loan of Rs 18 lakh to send his son abroad and was still paying the installments.

“My son received his degree two days after his death on June 18 and was supposed to get a work permit next month,” he added.