A mother's heartbreak: The unresolved mystery of the missing Indian student

Just before midnight on July 22, 2025, Indian student Riya Gupta disappeared from the downtown area of Toronto, Canada. Her shattered cellphone was found later that morning near a local lake. Riya's disappearance has devastated her mother, Mrs. Gupta, who believes that Riya was discriminated against and abused at her university because of her race and gender. While the Toronto Police Service's Missing Persons Unit is investigating the case, they have not yet released any leads. Riya's disappearance is just one of many unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. For Mrs. Gupta, however, this feels like the end of her motherhood journey, and she hopes that Riya will come home safe.