22-year-old Punjabi student arrested in Canada for alleged sexual assault

An Indian teenager who came to the country as an international student has been arrested in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in connection with multiple allegations of sexual assault.

The person arrested was identified as Arshdeep Singh, 22, a Brampton resident.

According to Peel Regional Police (PRP), Singh would lure the alleged victims into his vehicle while posing as a rideshare operator. According to PRP’s statement on Wednesday, it is also possible that the victims were of Indian origin, as it spoke to them in Punjab.

Police said 3 women were victims. The first incident occurred on November 8, when he allegedly approached a woman waiting at a bus stop in Brampton around 7 a.m. Singh, who was driving a four-door black sedan, was “allegedly a carpool operator,” the statement said. He then took 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 waiting at a bus stop in Brampton. Singh then allegedly took her to another part of the city before attacking her.

The same situation was seen in the third incident, which occurred at around 6.45 in the morning of November 16. It is alleged that he approached a woman waiting at a bus stop in Brampton in a different vehicle, again a four-door sedan, and then sexually assaulted her.

PRP investigators believe the same suspect is responsible for all three incidents.

“In all three incidents, the suspect spoke to the victims in Punjabi,” the statement said.

Singh faces multiple charges that include three counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault by strangulation, robbery and two counts of threatening.

According to local media reports, Singh came to Canada as an international student in 2022.

The statement emphasized that police continue to advise the public not to accept unsolicited transportation offers from anyone they do not know.

“We thank the team of private investigators who worked around the clock to make this arrest. We will continue to do everything we can to stop gender-based and sexual violence and hold those responsible accountable,” said PRP Vice President Nick Milinovich.