By Canadian Press

Man accused of killing 11-year-old daughter dies in hospital, police say

Feb 20, 2019 | 6:00 PM

TORONTO — A man accused of killing his daughter on her 11th birthday died in hospital on Wednesday evening, police said, noting that their investigation into the girl’s death is not over.  

Roopesh Rajkumar had been hospitalized with what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound since shortly after his arrest.  

His daughter, Riya Rajkumar, became the subject of an Amber Alert late Thursday night after her father allegedly indicated to her mother that he planned to hurt both the child and himself.

Shortly after the alert was sent out, Peel regional police knocked down the door to her father’s home in Brampton, Ont., and found Riya’s body.

Officers have not released her cause of death, and note that the homicide unit will continue its investigation.

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Rajkumar was arrested by provincial police more than 100 kilometres away in Oro-Medonte, Ont., and was charged with first-degree murder.

Investigators have said that after Rajkumar was transferred into the custody of local police, they discovered he was injured and took him to hospital. The province’s police watchdog declined to investigate the circumstances leading to the gunshot wound.

The day Riya died — Valentine’s Day — was also her and her mother’s birthdays.

“She was so excited for her birthday, looking forward to having dinner later that evening,” Riya’s mother, Priya Ramdin, said in a statement Tuesday. “Never did I think that my daughter would not return back to me.”

Riya’s funeral was held earlier Wednesday.

The Canadian Press