Gurvinder Nath came to the GTA with ‘big dreams.’ He died in a violent carjacking
Gurvinder Nath, 24, was a “gentle man” who loved his new car like a baby, his friends say. He died in hospital after a carjacking by unknown assailants last week.
In the early morning hours of July 9, Gurvinder Nath, a “gentle man” who dreamed of making Canada his permanent home, hopped in his Volkswagen Jetta to deliver a late order from the Mississauga pizza shop where he had been working to help pay for school.
The 24-year-old from Punjab, India, arrived in the country in 2021 and was studying business at a Toronto-area college, paying the hefty international student tuition fees that come with such an education.
But he had managed to buy the Jetta. It was his first car, and he treated it like a baby, according to cousin Balram Krishan and family friend Jaswinder Meelu, who on Wednesday jumped from one media interview to another, sharing memories of Nath and still dealing with his July 14 death.
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Nath was ambushed and fatally injured in a carjacking while making that last delivery. Found by his boss and rushed to hospital, Nath remained unconscious and hooked up to a tangle of wires, tubes and needles at the trauma unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre until his death.
Krishan and others were by his bedside from morning to night, so he wasn’t alone.
“The doctors tried their best,” said Meelu. “But because of the head injuries, his brain pressure was at an extreme level. There was serious damage to his head. So, he couldn’t make it.”
As of Wednesday, there had been no arrests in what Peel Regional Police described as a “violent carjacking” involving “unknown suspects” who confronted Nath at the delivery address.
They left with Nath’s Jetta, his money and the pizza, leaving Nath, alone, with “life-threatening injuries” at the side of the road.
Police haven’t divulged much to the family, said Krishan and Meelu. The delivery address was very close to the pizza shop, said the two, and the people living at the address did not place the order, they said.
The car was found abandoned in the area of Old Derry Road and Old Creditview Road, about three kilometres from the delivery address.
Worried about his employee, the pizza shop owner went looking for Nath, twice, at the delivery location, only spotting him on the second trip, said Meelu, who along with Krishan are helping to get the word out about a vigil to be held in Nath’s memory on Saturday at 7 p.m., in the parking lot outside the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga.
They hope for a large show of support.
Nath had been living in Mississauga with roommates, all from the area in Punjab where his family is from, said Meelu and Krishan, both of whom work in real estate in the Toronto area.
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On Facebook, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said it “deeply saddens me that this senseless act of violence happened in our city and took the life of Gurvinder Nath, a young man who was simply out doing his job.
“My heart goes out to his family, friends, colleagues and fellow students. Peel Regional Police will be doing everything in their power to swiftly apprehend all those accountable.”
Nath, said Krishan and Meelu, grew up in a family without much money. His parents make a living buying milk from farmers and selling it to bigger shops. He has a twin brother and an older brother.
Nath was a “gentle man,” the kind of person who would offer to cut the grass for a landlord, said Meelu.
Meelu, who grew up in India not far from Nath’s home, only met Nath after he came to Canada. Aside from taking care of his Jetta, Nath enjoyed watching cricket matches and kabaddi, and hoped to get Canadian citizenship and go into business.
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“He came with big dreams,” said Meelu. “Because he worked for a fast food chain, he was hoping to open up his own business one day, maybe something like a pizza shop or maybe a Subway sandwich” shop, and was “so happy to have his first car of his life.”
“He was washing it every single day,” said Meelu.
On Wednesday, Nath’s body had not yet been released by police, said Meelu. The intention is to get his body home when possible. In the meantime, a GoFundMe campaign set up by Krishan had by Wednesday evening raised more than $70,000 to cover costs; whatever is left over will be sent to family, said Krishan.
Those responsible for Nath’s death, said Meelu, “are cowards. They have taken a life of a young man, a son, brother, a person who was going to contribute towards this community, towards this nation once he started his business.
“It’s a shame what they did. And now, whatever they have done, they should come forward and tell the police, and the justice should prevail.”
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Police are asking anyone in the area who saw something or may have dashcam footage to contact them at 905-453-3311, extension 3410, or leave information anonymously through Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or at peelcrimestoppers.ca.
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