|
|
TOP STORY
|
RAMINDER BADH: ‘THIS IS MASS MURDER … WHAT ARE WALLY OPPAL, GORDON CAMPBELL, STEPHEN HARPER DOING ABOUT RECKLESS DRIVERS?’ |
By Rattan Mall
|
Raminder Badh, 39, breaks down time and time again as he talks to me on Wednesday about the deep affection that bound him and his three sisters to their parents who worked their fingers to the bone to put their four children through university.
He just can’t understand the horrific tragedy that befell his Surrey family early Saturday morning just after his youngest sister Rupi’s engagement party when the BMW she, her older sister Varinder and parents Dilbag, 61, and Bakshish, 60, were travelling in was rear-ended by a speeding Acura, sending it careening into a power pole on 128th Street in the 8500-block.
His parents who were seated in the back were killed, while Varinder, who was in the front seat, sustained a broken jaw and pelvis, besides suffering internal injuries. Rupi suffered a concussion and bruises.
Varinder, who’s recovering in Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminister, was only told of her parents’ death on Tuesday, Shin Bir, husband of her eldest sister, Jatinder, tells me.
He says: “She was devastated. She thought we were lying. She said ‘it should have been me. Why did it happen to them?’ She wants to change the laws.”
The funeral for Raminder’s parents has been tentatively fixed for July 26 because of Varinder’s condition.
Badh laments: “My mom and dad came here for a better life for us, not for themselves. They probably hated it here. My parents must have struggled because … they didn’t have the language, they didn’t have the culture. My kids are second generation Canadians. We’ve done everything right. We got educated, stayed away from the bad stuff, did everything moral, did everything ethical, we are bringing our kids up, we pay our taxes, we’ve done everything. And then this happened.”
LAWS HAVE TO BE CHANGED
He wants to know what Attorney General Wally Oppal, who personally phoned the family on Wednesday, Premier Gordon Campbell and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are doing about such reckless drivers.
Raminder says: “I truly believe the RCMP is doing a proper job. I think they need time to put everything together. … Our justice system is a disgrace. It’s not a justice system, it’s what they call a legal system. Our legal system is broken.”
He adds: “We want to see the legal system change. We want to see these guys prosecuted for murder. I’d love them to go to jail. … I want them to spend some time there so they can think about it, and so when they get out, I want them to improve society, improve themselves, save somebody else. You’ve taken my parents, but if you can save a life then Waheguru will forgive you. … The laws have to be changed to protect humanity, to protect the Canadian way of life. If we don’t protect the Canadian way of life, we should immigrate back to the country we came from.”
He says: “How many people have to die? We’ve been talking about this for how long? And especially in the Apne (Indo-Canadian) community we’ve been talking about this. And now it’s my mom and dad. I never thought this was going to affect us. We were in our perfect bubble, we were doing well – all university-educated. Mom and dad put us through school. My dad worked for Salvation Army – he worked in the maintenance and then he worked in the laundry department. He did blue-collar jobs. My mom worked in care aid but she retired about five years ago.”
While Raminder works in sales for a big American company, Rupi, who got engaged, is a nurse, Varinder is a criminology professor at Douglas College, and Jatinder, is a teacher with the Surrey School Board.
RCMP INVESTIGATION: WHO WAS DRIVING?
Surrey RCMP Roger Morrow on Thursday said that police “were able to immediately determine the name of the registered owner of the 2006 White Acura TL upon arrival at the collision scene.”
However, because the two occupants of the Acura fled the scene before the police arrived, “the identity of the driver has not been confirmed.”
Morrow said: “Investigators have spoken with family members of the registered owner, however attempts to locate and speak with that person directly have been unsuccessful.
“As such, a public appeal is being made to the owner and / or driver of the Acura to contact investigators with the Surrey RCMP Serious Crime Unit to provide information surrounding this tragic event.
“Anyone else who may have direct knowledge of this fatal hit and run are once again being asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.”
(I am sure the RCMP will have collected fingerprints from the steering wheel and other parts of the Acura. Also, they must have looked for injuries on the person in whose name the vehicle is registered.)
Earlier in the week, the RCMP said they were still trying to determine the entire sequence of events.
Morrow said: “We are of the opinion that speed was very much a contributing factor. We cannot confirm with certainty that this was a case of street racing, but it is being considered as a possibility in the investigation.
“From driver and witness accounts police determined that a white Acura TL was northbound on 128th Street in the left (fast) lane. As the Acura made the transition into the curb lane, it struck the rear of a red BMW sending this vehicle into a skid and subsequently into a power pole. A third vehicle was also impacted as this series of events unfolded. Ultimately, the white Acura lost control rolling on to its roof coming to rest approximately 100 meters north of the stricken BMW.
“With the occupants of the BMW still at their vehicle, the two male occupants of the Acura were able to exit their car and ran south. Both subjects are described as South Asian males, between 20 and 25 years of age.
“The Acura was not reported stolen.
“ … As an initial indicator of how serious these events are dealt with by police, at the scene a sea of green numbered markers could be seen laid out on the road surface. These are typically placed at a collision investigation to highlight and map items that may well prove to have evidentiary value.
“The white Acura has been seized and a detailed forensic examination will be conducted of the entire vehicle.”
Morrow also pointed out the penalties in such cases, noting: “The Criminal Code specifies offences that deal with ‘failure to stop at the scene of an accident.’ Where there is bodily harm inflicted, imprisonment for 10 years is possible and for death, life imprisonment. (Section 252 CC).”
THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING
Raminder is livid about the conduct of what he believes were street racers. He tells me: “They knew what they were doing. When they’re going that fast, when the speed limit is 55-60 and they’re doing 150, they know what they’re doing. They’re taking a gun with six chambers and putting three bullets in there – they’re taking a risk. Their gun went off – two lives went. One life is murder, two lives is mass murder. So right now this is mass murder. This is not reckless driving.”
He says: “The cowards ran out of their car, I was told. They ran by my mom and dad’s body and my sister is lying in the car. They saw my mom on the road, bleeding, and they did nothing – they did nothing. They ran southbound, right back to the (banquet) hall to find another buddy that could go and hide them or do something. They are cowards.”
He says: “Maybe they could have saved them, maybe they could have helped them, maybe they could have just held their hand, just comforted them. I was told (my parents) died on impact. But what if they didn’t?
He says he’s not seeking vengeance as such. He adds: I want them to be better people. I want them to take care of their mom and dad. I want them to love their mom and dad. … I want them to respect their mom and dad the way we respect our mom and dad.”
He adds: “This time it was my mom and dad, but what if its his mom and dad next time?”
He talks about how Rupi, a nurse, felt their mom’s pulse and kept pleading to her to keep breathing, and other sad details.
He carries on: “I was thinking my mom and dad are not going to come back. I can’t do anything about it. I was so close to my mom and dad. Everyday I would talk to them. They told us what to do, what was right and wrong. We’re orphans – who do we talk to now? Who do their grandchildren talk to? It’s not fair. When it hits your family then you really realize how much it hurts because like I said the pain in our heart, we never felt like this before in our entire life.”
UNRESTRICTED DRINKING, EXPENSIVE CARS
Raminder is also angry at the unrestricted drinking at the many South Asian banquet halls.
He says: “South Asians on 128th Street, coming out of those banquet halls, what are they thinking? I think the banquet halls should have a restriction on how much liquor is served. Period. One or two drinks. No more open bars. No more the typical Apna (Indo-Canadian) thing where you go to receptions and you just drink till you just lie flat on the ground. That needs to change as well. I think Apne young guys drink too much there because it’s an open bar. No one cares when they get in their cars.”
Then about the expensive cars in which many young Indo-Canadian young men zip around, he says: “Their parents buy these cars, (the young men) buy these cars - I don’t know how they buy these cars. I’ve been living in this country for 35 years, I can’t afford a $100,000 car. … Their poor parents are working on berry farms, working as janitors, working as labourers, working as forklift drivers and these guys are driving $100,000 cars. Then they want to show off. But if you show off and you kill someone, then don’t be cowards. Then face up to it.”
He also decries the lack of respect for the elderly nowadays. He recalls how a couple of months ago he stopped his vehicle when he saw an elderly Indo-Canadian just sitting on the ground and touching his legs. He asked him if he was okay and he replied that he was just massaging his legs. He then asked him if he needed a ride and the elderly man replied that he lived just near by.
Raminder says: “That’s why we are here – for compassion. I didn’t even know the guy, right?”
He then recounts how his dad always wanted a Rolex and how he was finally in a position to buy him one only recently and how excited his dad was.
And then he breaks down as he says: “And he had it only for seven months!”
|
[Go To Top]
|
| |
|
|
