An Indian teenager was found dead in the oven of a Canada Walmart store earlier this month – with many suggesting foul play. Nineteen-year-old Gursimran Kaur had recently moved to Halifax and was working in the store’s bakery section with her mother. The shocking incident also sparked an outpouring of support from Canada’s Sikh community, with some organizing a digital fundraiser to help the grieving family.

Halifax Regional Police (HRP) were called to the scene on Saturday around 9:30 p.m. and found her body inside the walk-in oven. The store has remained closed since the incident and an investigation is underway. A spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Department of Labor said a stop work order had been issued for the bakery and “one piece of equipment” at the Walmart store.

“It is important to note that the investigation has not yet reached a point where the cause and manner of death have been confirmed,” the HRP said.

Police Constable Martin Cromwell also described the investigation as “complex” and said Halifax police were coordinating with appropriate agencies to assist in the investigation.

Kaur was found dead in the oven by her mother on October 19. She had made several attempts to locate her daughter because it was “unusual” for the teenager to turn off her phone during the day. Other employees had dismissed her concerns and suggested that Kaur might be busy helping other customers.

According to a report from The Sunshe had finally opened the oven after someone pointed out the “leak” coming out of it.

“Imagine the horror his mother experienced when she opened the oven, when someone pointed it out to her!” reads an excerpt from the fundraising appeal.

Some suggest that Kaur had been placed inside the oven by another person. A Walmart employee also noted that the oven she used while working was lit from the outside and had a “really difficult” door handle to open.

“You have to push (the latch) with all your might, pull the handle to the side and lock it in place…There’s no way anyone can lock themselves in there,” concluded his colleague Chris Breezie in a recent TikTok. video.

She also noted that this would have been extremely difficult for the teenager and that employees were never required to physically enter the oven for any task. Breezie also pointed out that there was an emergency latch located inside the oven.

Walk-in ovens, also called cabinet or batch ovens, allow curing, drying or baking in batches using racks or rolling carts. They are often found in large volume bakeries, in supermarkets for example.

(With contribution from agencies)