Candlelight vigil to be held for pregnant Indian student who fell from Smethwick bridge
A candlelit vigil is being held for a pregnant Indian student who died after falling from a Smethwick bridge last month.
Lakhveer Kaur, age 23, fell from the bridge near Smethwick High Street on June 24 and died in hospital from her injuries. Passersby saw Miss Kaur on the bridge and called emergency services but paramedics found her on the dual carriageway.
A fundraising campaign quickly reached its £10,000 target to fund the repatriation of her remains to her family in India.
However, a police investigation is still ongoing concerning Miss Kaur's death which will delay her body being allowed to leave the country.
Smethwick Councillor Parbinder Kaur has helped organise the vigil outside the sweet shop near the High Street bridge at midday tomorrow.
She said: "This is a terrible tragedy. It is a very sensitive subject in the Sikh community and there will be people coming from Spain and Glasgow for this vigil. She was all alone in this country."
Sikh Women's Aid organised the GoFundMe page which raised £10,000 within 24 hours.
A spokesman said: "Mum-to-be, Lakhveer Kaur died in Smethwick, West Midlands. Lakhveer had only been in the UK for a short period of time and came on a student visa. She has no family or relatives here in the UK who can support the aftermath of her untimely and sad passing.
"With generous support, we have now raised our target of £10,000 to support Lakhveer's family in repatriating Lakhveer Kaur's remains to her family in India where they wish to perform her last rites.
"The funds raised will go towards transporting Lakhveer Kaur back to India, funeral costs and all remaining funds will be given to Lakhveer Kaur's family to support them as they are economically struggling."
They added: "There are multiple statutory enquires currently underway by various services into Lakhveer Kaur's death. These can take some time but once those enquires are complete we will be in a position to progress the repatriation of Lakhveer Kaur.
"We are humbled by the community's response to our crowdfunding campaign. In less than 18 hours we fundraised our target to send Lakhveer Kaur back to her family. As we have hit our target the crowdfunding page is now closed to receiving donations.
"The funds raised will be used for two things: any costs associated with Lakhveer being repatriated to India and then to her native home and all costs associated with her funeral.
"All funds that are left over from the above expenses will be given directly to Lakhveer's family."
