 Jayesh Prajapati, who was fatally injured on September 15, 2012, in a "gas and dash" at a Toronto Shell station, is seen with his wife Vaishali and son Rishabh. (Supplied Photo)
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TORONTO - No flag at half mast at Shell gas stations or headquarters.
No employer reward for capture of his killer.
No covering of funeral expenses like the public did for Jack Layton.
And no moment of sombre pause at gas stations like the Toronto Transit Commission did for their killed-on-the-job employee.
For gas station attendants there is no glory.
Yet this one was a real hero. Jayesh Prajapati, after all, gave his life to save Shell Canada from losing $112.85.
And if he really didn’t do it because he felt it was going to cost him, then all the more reason to reward his loyalty and bravery.
We are not picking on Shell Canada because the real (alleged) bad guy is a fugitive named Max Edwin Tutiven. But feeling Shell needs to step up and do more, I put these questions to them.
And spokesman Stephen Doolan respectfully answered them.
Will Shell offer a cash reward for the arrest of your employee killed?
“There may come a point in time where discussions around a reward occur, but at this stage, to my knowledge, they have not. Shell and the retailer are fully cooperating with police and their investigation.”
Will Shell pay for the employee’s funeral expenses?
“Shell is saddened by this senseless loss of life and our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Currently there no plans to pay for funeral expenses, however our understanding is there are plans underway to establish a trust fund for the family. Shell will be contributing to this trust fund.”
Is there a thorough investigation underway to determine if he, or others, were forced to pay back money that was stolen?
“Shell is conducting a full investigation of the incident to ensure that any lessons learned from this sad incident are incorporated into ways of doing business in the future. The Ontario Employment Standards Act prohibits employers from deducting wages because the employer had property stolen.”
Why were Shell Canada’s flags not at half staff at HQ and at all Shell stations?
“Shell follows the same protocol as governments, where the flag is lowered to half staff at the death of a head of government or the Queen.”
A head of state or Queen never dove in front of a speeding bullet like Prajapati did.
Perhaps Shell can nominate him for the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame which has plenty of oil barons but no noticeable gas jockeys on their indication list.
Meanwhile, the manhunt continues to catch an alleged dangerous fugitive.
Sources say Tutiven “had connections with the old McCormick Boys gang of the west end” and could perhaps be hidden thanks to those contacts. There are also unconfirmed accounts he was at the visitation of slain former McCormick associate and Little Italy shooting victim John Raposo this summer.
To add insult to the whole mess, when this alleged killer is finally caught he will be offered taxpayer funded legal aid for his defence.
Prajapati gets nothing.
