Who was Vanshika Saini, the 21-year-old daughter of Punjab AAP leader, found dead in Canada?

Vanshika Saini, a 21-year-old Indian student who had gone missing in Ottawa, Canada, has been found dead, according to the Indian High Commission in the country.

Vanshika was missing since 22 April and was found dead near a beach, according to a report in Times of India. Vanshika's family is based in — India in Canada (@HCI_Ottawa) April 28, 2025 " data-vars-page-type="story" data-vars-link-type="Manual">Punjab's Mohali district. The Commission said that local police are investigating the death.

Investigations On: Canada Mission

“We are deeply saddened to be informed of the death of Ms Vanshika, student from India in Ottawa. The matter has been taken up with concerned authorities and the cause is under investigation as per local police. We are in close contact with the bereaved kin and local community associations to provide all possible assistance," India's mission in Canada said in a post on X, formerly Twitter on April 29.

“HCI Ottawa is in touch with local partner Indo Canadian community associations and concerned authorities regarding a missing person alert for an Indian student in Ottawa. If anyone has any information, please provide the same to the contacts as given below,” it said

Who is Vanshika Saini?

Vanshika Saini went to Canada after completing her Class 12th exam around two and a half years ago. She enrolled in a two-year health diploma course. She passed her final exams on April 18 and started working part-time with a call centre in Ottawa.

Her father, Davinder Saini is a resident of Saini Mohalla, Dera Bassi – a satellite city of Chandigarh and a municipal council in Mohali district of Punjab. Davinder is a local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and party MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa's close aide. Devinder is AAP's bloc president and incharge of the MLA's office, according to party leaders,

Randhawa is an MLA from the Dera Bassi Assembly seat.

Davinder has suspected foul play in his daughter’s death, according to reports. He reportedly came to know about his daughter's disappearance on April 25 when one of her friends got in touch with the family. He had last talked with her daughter on April 22, after which her phone had been switched off.

A report of a missing person was lodged with the Ottawa police.

On April 22, she left home for her workplace, but did not return, the reports said. Vanshika was also scheduled to appear for the high-stakes IELTS exam in days to come. IELTS is an English test for international study.