'I could not see her': Mother of Gursimran Kaur, charred to death in Walmart oven in Canada, faults probe

Eighteen months after the horrific accident shook the Indian-origin family in Canada, Mandip Kaur, the mother of 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur who was charred to death inside Walmart oven, broke her silence and expressed her dissatisfaction over the probe.

Soon after the tragedy, the Halifax Police ruled out anything suspicious.

Now the Nova Scotia Department of Labour announced that they found no safety violations in Gursiran's death. This finding prompted Mandip, who also worked in the same Walmart, to break her silence and recount the horror. Speaking to DailyMail. Mandip said she could not find any remains of her daughter. "Her body was not there. I could not see her," Mandip said.

She still says she doesn't know what happened. On the night of October 19, 2024, both the mother and daughter were on shift. Mandip was trying to the daughter but she could not reach her via text or phone. But she assumed that he daughter was either with a customer or on break. But she grew anxious after two managers told her that they also had not seen Gursimran for a while.

When they arrived in the bakery, one of the managers noticed a “black-brown liquid resembling tar” leaking from the back of the oven, fluid that would turn out to be coming from Gursimran’s body, which lay next to the baking racks.

Mandip collapsed and was taken away as emergency responders arrived. Mandip said the investigators did not explain to them how Gursimran ended up inside the oven and how she could not get out. The mother does not know how long her daughter was inside the oven, or whether she screamed for help. “They don’t know. They don’t have any proof. No solid results," she said. Mandip is certain that her daughter did not end her life.

Gursimran was a happy girl, was planning to study medicine and even a package was delivered days after her death, the mother said.

After a service at their local gurdwara, the family returned to India, where Gursimran’s ashes were scattered. The Walmart location was closed for four months after the fatality, during which time the bakery was renovated and moved to another section of the store. The new ovens are not walk-ins.