An Indian youth, who came to the country as an international student, has been arrested in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in connection with multiple incidents of alleged sexual assault.
The person arrested was identified as 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh, a resident of Brampton.
According to the Peel Regional Police (PRP), Singh would lure the alleged victims into his vehicle posing as operating a rideshare. The victims are also likely to be of Indian origin, as he spoke to them in Punjabi, according to a release from PRP, on Wednesday.
Police said that three women were victimised. The first incident occurred on November 8 at around 7 am, when he is alleged to have approached a woman waiting at a bus stop in Brampton. Singh, who was driving a black four-door sedan, “purported to be a rideshare operator”, the release said. He then drove her to a location in the town of Vaughan and allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Less than 45 minutes later, he made a similar approach to another woman, who was waiting at a bus stop in Brampton. Singh then allegedly drove her to another area in the city before assaulting her.
The same pattern was evident in the third instance, which occurred on November 16 at approximately 6.45 am. He is alleged to have again approached a woman waiting at a bus stop in Brampton in different vehicle, also a four-door sedan, and then sexually assaulted.
PRP investigators believe that the same suspect was responsible for all three incidents.
“The suspect spoke Punjabi to the victims in all three incidents,” the statement added.
Singh is facing multiple charges including three counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault by strangulation, robbery and two counts of uttering threats.
According to a local media report, Singh came to Canada as an international student in 2022.
Police continue to recommend that members of the public do not to accept any unsolicited offers of transportation from anyone unknown to them, the release stressed.
“Thank you to the team of dedicated investigators who worked around the clock to make this arrest. We’ll keep doing everything we can to stop gender-based and sexual violence and hold those responsible accountable,” PRP Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said.