‘We are so mad’: Family looking for answers on RCMP search following son’s death

The family of a man who drowned earlier this month at Pinawa Dam is speaking out about his life and are looking for answers. Joseph Bernacki reports.

Family and friends are speaking about how long it took for Manitoba RCMP to search after the drowning death of 20-year-old Devkarn Singh at Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park earlier this month.

Devkarn, a third-year architecture student at the University of Manitoba, visited Pinawa Dam with friends on the evening of May 4 before the RCMP were notified around 8 p.m. that he had fallen into the water.

According to an RCMP press release, he was “seen slipping off the rocks and into the water” at the top of a small waterfall at the dam. A search of the area and shoreline that evening was not successful.

His mother, Jasveer Gehlot, told CTV News her family is angry that detachment officers were not able to immediately conduct an underwater search, as a trained team did not search for more than 12 hours after her son fell.

“We are so mad,” said Gehlot, claiming when she reached Pinawa that night, the RCMP officers told her “They cannot do anything because they are not trained for this.”

“I said, ‘You can imagine if your child (was) under the water, in the cold water,” she said. “We cannot do anything for my child.”

The Manitoba RCMP confirmed detachment officers do not have underwater recovery training as it is a “very specialized duty.”

“Searches of this nature are high risk for officers and can not be performed at night for their safety,” a statement from the RCMP said in part.

Manitoba RCMP has a single underwater recovery team (URT) with trained members. The statement says the URT was aware of the search on May 4 and attended the next morning.

‘We all were very inspired by his work’

Manvir Kaur worked alongside Devkarn with the University of Manitoba Sikh Students’ Association (UMSikhSA) where he was vice president for two years.

“We all were very inspired by his work because he was excelling in all parts of his life,” said Kaur.

Devkarn also ran as a candidate in the most recent general election for the University of Manitoba Students’ Union.

“He was giving so much time to his career, his studies, his side hustles, but he also gave equal, if not more, time to the community. For him, he was a very selfless person who always tried to help others, even if it meant that he would somehow fall behind in something, he would always help others first.”

Devkarn’s family and friends said the RCMP should have responded with the URT immediately, as they believe he may have been able to be saved.

“We’re all very proud of him, and although he left from his body, we’re always going to be inspired by the life that he lived,” said Kaur.

Karamjeet Singh, a friend who described Devkarn as a little brother, said he is devastated.

“He was always ready to help, ready to put in the work. He was a man with great ambitions.”

Gehlot said her son was a brilliant student, a good painter and an excellent role model in the Sikh community.

“I want to say so many things about my son, but I have no words,” said Gehlot. “I cannot express my pain in words.”