HALIFAX — A Sikh organization says the body of a 19-year-old employee who died in a Halifax Walmart bakery oven Saturday was discovered by her mother — a co-worker at the store.
The Maritime Sikh Society on Thursday identified the victim as Gursimran Kaur, a Sikh woman originally from India. She was "a young beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams," says an online fundraising page organized by the society.
Kaur had immigrated to Canada with her mother about two years ago. Balbir Singh, secretary of the society, said Kaur's mother is still suffering from shock but she authorized the release of information about her daughter for the GoFundMe page.
The fundraising drive says the mother became frantic after her daughter stopped answering her phone during the Saturday night shift. The mother, whose name was not released, eventually opened the walk-in bakery oven at the store and found her daughter's burned body, it says.
The fundraiser, which had amassed more than $85,000 as of noon local time, requests donations to bring Kaur's father and brother from the Punjab region of India to Nova Scotia for the funeral. "This family's sufferings are unimaginable and indescribable. They need your support to get through this horrific time," it says.
A spokeswoman from Walmart said the company has no further comment on the matter as a criminal investigation is still underway.
Halifax Regional Police have said they are still attempting to determine the cause and manner of the young woman's death and have said the investigation is "complex" and could be lengthy. They said in an emailed statement Thursday they "have no new information to share with the public."
In an interview, Singh said the mother wants answers about how it was possible for her daughter to die in the oven and not be found until she began a search.
"She (the mother) is not in a state where she wants all of this to be hushed up," he said. "She is telling everyone that she wants justice for her daughter."
He added the mother is receiving psychological counselling to help her through the shock and intense grief she is experiencing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
