Ludhiana woman killed in Canada, man held for ‘intimate partner homicide’

Police in Canada have charged a 22-year-old Indian man with second-degree murder in the death of his 23-year-old partner, Damanpreet Kaur, a native of Samrala in Punjab's Ludhiana district, after she died of injuries days after being found unresponsive at a home in Edmonton, the capital city of the province of Alberta.Damanpreet Kaur, 23, was from Ludhiana district of Punjab, India. (Photo: gofundme.com)The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said officers responded to a call around 6:44 pm on July 9 regarding “an unresponsive female with suspicious injuries” at a residence in the Silverberry neighbourhood in southeast Edmonton. “An adult male was taken into custody shortly thereafter,” the police said.Arrested days after murderDamanpreet Kaur was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she died on July 12, police said. The Edmonton Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on July 14 and determined that the manner of death was homicide (murder), according to the police. On July 23, investigators disclosed that the cause of death was strangulation, saying the information had earlier been withheld for investigative reasons.“Ritish Kumar was arrested on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, and charged with second degree murder,” the EPS said in its release.“This death is considered an intimate partner homicide. Police are not seeking any additional suspects at this time,” the department added. “Intimate partner homicide” is used in Canada to refer to murder involving a current or former romantic partner, regardless of marital status.What led to murderPolice have not disclosed the circumstances leading to Kaur's death or any possible motive. They have also not said whether the man initially taken into custody on July 9 was Kumar, who was formally arrested nearly two weeks later. More details on Kumar were not shared.Local broadcaster CityNews reported that neighbours said Kaur and Kumar had been living together in a basement suite on Silverberry Road. Members of Edmonton's Punjabi community described Kaur as friendly and said her death had shocked the local community. Gulzar Singh Nirman, a community member, told CityNews that he had spoken to Kaur's father in India, who was devastated by the loss.Separately, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help repatriate Kaur's body to India and cover funeral-related expenses. “The costs of international transportation, documentation, and funeral arrangements are overwhelming for the family during this heartbreaking time,” the fundraiser states.The campaign says the money will be used to transport Kaur's body to India so her family can perform her last rites. By Saturday, it had raised nearly its full target of $20,000.