Charlie Lake victim reaches Indian hometown for last rites

CHARLIE LAKE, B.C.— The body of the international student killed in Charlie Lake has reached his hometown in India. 

According to a news article published by The Times of India (TOI), the body of 25-year-old Gurkirat Singh Manocha has arrived in Ujjain, in central India. 

Manocha, a student of Northern Lights College in Fort St. John studying business management, was killed on March 13th after an “altercation” in Charlie Lake which is being treated as a homicide. 

Manocha’s remains were flown to Ahmedabad on Thursday, April 2nd, a city in the state of Gujarat, where the body and documents were cleared by customs before he was handed over to his family. 

His remains were brought to his hometown, Ujjain, a city in Madhya Pradesh, in central India, by an ambulance service based in Ahmedabad. 

The TOI article said Reetu Kaur Manocha, Gurkirat’s mother, rushed to meet the ambulance and thanked the ambulance driver for “bringing her son home for a final farewell.” 

It said Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister, Mohan Yadav, visited Manocha’s home to offer condolences and pay floral tributes before the funeral procession began. 

Yadav had previously offered condolences to Manocha’s family through a post on the state’s official website. 

Manocha’s funeral procession made its way to the Shri Gurudwara Sukh Sagar for a prayer before it proceeded to the Chakratirth crematorium for the last rites. 

The article said the condolence meeting at the crematorium was attended by members of the Sikh community, residents, politicians and social workers. 

Manocha’s cousin, Jasmeet Kaur previously launched a GoFundMe page for Manocha to help pay off his student loans. 

As of April 7th, the page has raised $15,157. 

To donate to Manocha’s GoFundMe page, click here. 

Anyone who witnessed the “altercation” or who may have dashcam footage is asked to contact the Fort St. John RCMP at 250-787-8140.