Brampton, Oct. 15, 2004
TheBramptonGuardian
Two Toronto men were arrested Wednesday without incident and charged
with first degree murder in the shooting death of Amretta Singh through
the front door of her family's home in March.
Stenwick Hookumchand, 21, and Navaneethan Kunananthan, 24, were arrested
Wednesday evening by Peel police homicide detectives. Kunananthan was
arrested on his way to work at a retail distribution warehouse in Mississauga.
Hookumchand, who works for a manufacturing company in Etobicoke, was
called and asked to go to a Mississauga police station where he was
arrested as he arrived.
But the suspected triggerman is still at large, police report. Investigators
say they believe Vijayarajah Manickavasagar, 23, of Toronto, has fled
the country under an assumed name and they are following up leads in
their hunt to find him.
Neither man arrested this week has any ties to Brampton, although both
were known to frequent the Calypso Hut II on Melanie Drive, according
to Peel homicide Acting Insp. Rick De Facendis.
Police have accused the pair of being in the car that followed Amretta
Singh, 20, her two brothers and a cousin home from the Calypso Hut II
in the early morning hours of March 20. Investigators believe that one
of Amretta's family members was involved in a minor dispute with three
men in the nightclub.
"The dispute at the club may have been something as simple as
a bump on the dance floor," De Facendis said. "Amretta Singh
had no part in this dispute. She was a very unfortunate bystander to
all of this."
He said there was no physical fight in the club, and no loud commotion--
nothing that attracted the attention of other patrons.
When the Singhs left the club they took a taxi home to Sunforest Drive,
but were followed by the three men, police say. They arrived home at
2:47 a.m. and, as they got out of the taxi, they were approached by
one of the three, according to police. As they ran into the house and
closed the door, the man fired several shots through the closed door.
Singh was hit by at least two bullets and collapsed in the front foyer.
Her brothers and cousin dove for cover and were not injured.
The two suspects made a brief first appearance in court yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, the man police believe pulled the trigger-- Manickavasagar--
has likely fled the country under an assumed name, possibly using an
altered passport, according to investigators. Police have a first-degree
murder arrest warrant for him and are working with Interpol and the
RCMP in an attempt to find him. They are following up on leads, but
have not yet confirmed.
Police are asking for help in tracking down Manickavasagar who goes
by the names "Vijay" and "Bullet", according to
police. He has ties and associates, including extended family and members
of the Sri Lankan community, in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Sri Lanka,
England and Australia. His hair has been cut short to alter his appearance,
police say.
The community was stunned by what De Facendis at the time called a
"senseless act of violence." An aspiring nurse, Amretta loved
to dance and had been at the club before. The nightclub does not serve
alcohol on Friday nights.
Manickavasagar was also known to frequent the club. He was not quite
a "regular", but many patrons knew him, police said.
Born in Sri Lanka, he is a Canadian citizen, but has extended family
and friends in the Sri Lankan community in the several cities in which
police suspect he may be hiding.