A 20-year-old Indian doctoral student has been shot dead near the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, with authorities probing the case as a homicide, officials said.

The shooting took place on Tuesday, and the Toronto police on Wednesday identified the victim as Shivank Avasthi, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Police were called to the area of Highland Creek Trail and Old Kingston Road at about 3:30 pm on Tuesday for a report of an injured person lying on the ground, Duty. Inspector Jeff Allington told reporters near the scene on Tuesday night.

When officers arrived, they found a person with a gunshot wound. That person was pronounced dead at the scene, the report added.

The police are probing the case as a homicide.

“Our immediate focus is on preserving evidence at the scene, determining what happened and notifying this individual’s next of kin. Because of that, there is very little information that I am able to share with you tonight,” Mr. Allington said.

Toronto police said the suspect fled the area prior to police arrival. No suspect description has been released.

Meanwhile, India’s Consulate in Toronto expressed “deep anguish” over the student’s “tragic death”.

“We express deep anguish over the tragic death of a young Indian doctoral student, Shivank Avasthi, in a fatal shooting incident near the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. The Consulate is in touch with the bereaved family during this difficult time, and is extending all necessary assistance in close coordination with the local authorities,” the Consulate posted on X.

A UTSC spokesperson said the university was “extremely saddened” to learn about the death near their campus, but did not confirm if he was a student, CP24 Television network reported.

“We cannot comment on the identity of the victim at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“We are grateful to our Campus Safety team, Toronto Police Service and emergency medical service personnel for their immediate response and action.”

The University of Toronto Scarborough campus (UTSC) issued a safety alert advising anyone in a building to stay inside and anyone outdoors to leave the area.

In a social media post, the school said the police investigation is in the Highland Creek Valley at UTSC. It said pathways into the valley remain closed, and people are advised to avoid the valley until police reopen it. (Agencies)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government’s reform trajectory will continue with even more vigour in the coming times as it is committed to boosting ‘Ease of Living’.

The prime minister made this observation on a series of posts by the central government on its various reform initiatives.

“Ours is a Government committed to boosting ‘Ease of Living’ and this thread below gives examples of how we have worked in that direction. Our reform trajectory will continue with even more vigour in the coming times,” Modi said.

With the hashtags #ReformInAction & #GoodGovernance, the central government said in the posts that the real test of reform is whether it reduces stress for people and 2025 marked a clear shift in governance, with reforms focused on outcomes, not complexity.

Simpler tax laws, faster dispute resolution, modern labour codes, and decriminalised compliance reduced friction for citizens and businesses alike. The emphasis was on trust, predictability, and long-term growth, showing how well-designed policy can quietly improve everyday life, the posts by MyGovIndia said.

For millions of Indians, tax relief became real. Incomes up to Rs 12 lakh attract zero tax. Middle-class families now retain more of what they earn, giving them flexibility to spend, save and invest with greater confidence, it stated.

It said the Income Tax Act, 2025 streamlined compliance and brought clarity, transparency, and fairness to the direct tax system, making it more taxpayer friendly and aligned with today’s needs.

Small businesses can now grow without fear of losing benefits. Higher investment and turnover limits allow MSMEs to expand while retaining access to loans and tax incentives. This encourages scaling up, hiring more workers, and building stronger local enterprises Rural employment now creates assets, not just wages. With extended guaranteed employment and a focus on village infrastructure, rural labour is now building permanent assets that strengthen communities and livelihoods, it said.

It observed that workers no longer need to navigate dozens of laws as 29 labour laws were simplified into four clear codes covering wages, safety, social security, and relations.

Rights are clearer, compliance is easier, and women benefit from assured maternity and workplace protections, it stated.

The government also stated that GST has been made simpler for businesses and consumers alike.

With streamlined tax slabs, easier registration, automated processes, and faster refunds, the next generation of GST reforms is improving ease of doing business.The impact is clear in record Diwali sales of Rs 6.05 trillion and the strongest Navratri shopping in over a decade, it said.

It also said that businesses can now bring products to market faster.

With rationalised Quality Control Orders, Indian manufacturers face lower compliance costs, improved efficiency, and greater strength in global markets. More room to grow for Indian businesses, the government said in the posts.

The expanded definition of small companies reduced compliance burden and costs, allowing enterprises with turnovers up to Rs 100 crore to focus on innovation and expansion, it added. (PTI)

Battling “vote chori” allegations levelled by the opposition Congress, the Election Commission held special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 13 states and Union territories and a ‘special revision’ in Assam this year and is all set to hold a similar exercise in the remaining 22 states and Union territories in 2026.

While the exercise, which kept the EC in news, was completed in Bihar, it is ongoing in Assam and other 12 states and Union territories with nearly 60 crore electors.

The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered next year in phases, officials said.

They noted that the exercise has so far been successful and would continue in remaining states and Union territories.

With details shared by electors being digitised, EC officials said perhaps in the next years, the voters’ list cleanup exercise will become more automised and backend driven.

During the year, besides SIR, the poll authority also conducted assembly elections in Bihar. This was perhaps for the first time in decades that the polls went off without any major election day violence. Also, no repoll was recommended for any polling station across the 243 assembly seats.

Bihar became the first state where polling booth rationalisation was carried out, reducing the maximum number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200. This will reduce queues on voting day.

The poll authority took a number of steps to ease polling experience.

Now people can carry mobile phones till outside the polling station and deposit it at phone deposit boxes. So far, phones were not allowed in polling locations and there was no facility to deposit them.

The year also saw a bitter spat between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over vote theft allegations.

This was for the first time a CEC sought an apology from a senior political leader for making allegations which could not be proved.

Several INDIA bloc leaders had claimed that the voters’ list cleanup exercise will deprive crores of genuine, eligible voters of their right to cast ballot for want of documents.

Many political parties had even approached the Supreme Court, demanding a ban on special intensive revision (SIR). The top court asked the EC to add Aadhaar as the 13th document to be accepted from electors seeking to add their name to the voters’ list but refused to ban the exercise, saying it has powers to carry out SIR to clean up the electoral rolls.

As the final voters list of Bihar was published, the response of parties opposing SIR was muted.

The Opposition’s bid to link SIR with its vote theft claims seem to have failed to impress voters in the Bihar assembly elections.

As the EC was preparing for SIR in Bihar, its officials had claimed that several nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar were found by its grassroots level functionaries.

But eventually, the poll authority did not share any number or proof of such people who were not eligible to be on the voters’ list.

Opposition parties had dubbed the EC’s claims as a ploy to carry out SIR to target electors not aligned to BJP and its allies.

Drawing lessons from Bihar SIR, the EC tweaked rules for the 12 states and Union territories. Electors were asked to submit documents after handing over partially-filed enumeration forms provided the backroom personnel failed to map their names from the last SIR final electoral roll.

Most states had the last SIR of the voter list between 2002 and 2004.

Most have nearly completed the mapping of current electors with the voters according to the last SIR held in their respective states or Union territories.

The primary aim of the SIR is to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of birth.

The move assumes significance in the wake of a crackdown in various states on illegal migrants, including from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The Election Commission had earlier this month extended the timeline for SIR of electoral rolls in six states and Union territories following requests from the respective chief electoral officers.

The EC issued the revised schedule for SIR in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Uttar Pradesh.

The enumeration period for these six states and Union territories was to end on December 11 and the draft electoral rolls were to be published on December 16.

The enumeration period for Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has been extended till December 14 and the draft electoral rolls were published on December 19.

For Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the enumeration period was extended till December 18 and the draft electoral rolls published on December 23.

The enumeration period for Uttar Pradesh has been extended till December 26 and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 31.

The enumeration period for Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal will end on Thursday and the draft electoral rolls were published on December 16.

The schedule for Kerala was revised earlier. The enumeration period for the state ended on December 18 and the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23.

To ensure that no eligible elector is left behind, new electors are being encouraged to fill Form 6 and submit it to the block level officers (BLOs) or fill the form online using the ECINet app or website to get their names included in the final electoral rolls, which will be published in February next year. (Agencies)