The father of 11-year-old Riya Rajkumar has died, almost a week after he was charged with her death, police said Wednesday night.Roopesh Rajkumar, 41, of Brampton, had been under police guard since last Friday in a Toronto trauma centre, recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his daughter, who was the subject of an Amber Alert late Thursday night.Riya’s mother, Priya Ramdin, went to police that night to report that her daughter had not been returned after spending the day with her father. Ramdin told police Rajkumar had indicated he might harm himself and his daughter.Read more:‘Riya was a dreamer:’ Mother of slain girl, 11, shares memories at candlelight vigilPeel Police charge father of dead girl, 11, with first-degree murderMan charged in daughter’s death in hospital with self-inflicted gunshot woundRajkumar was arrested by the OPP about 130 kilometres away, near Orillia.Riya’s body was found inside her father’s home on Hansen Rd. N. in Brampton.Earlier Wednesday, mourners gathered at an Etobicoke funeral home to say a final goodbye.It was standing room only in the funeral home as the service started with prayers and speeches from family members. Disbelief and dismay have gripped the community ever since the Valentine’s Day tragedy unfolded.“The community is traumatized,” said parent Sushma Aradhya, who came to a vigil in Meadowvale last Saturday with husband Uday and their daughter Sanskriti, who was Riya’s classmate. “As parents, we don’t know how to explain it to our kids.”A second vigil was held Tuesday in Brampton’s Garden Square, where a statement from Priya Ramdin was read by Peel’s Acting Chief Chris McCord. She remembered Riya as a “dreamer” who wanted to be a doctor, was a social butterfly, and always looked at the positive side of life.Ramdin said in the statement that she is ...
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