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<\/p>\nA convicted member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang testified at his deportation hearing on Thursday that he was paid $4,000 to open fire on a house on Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n
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Abjeet Kingra<\/a> told the Immigration and Refugee Board that a co-worker at a Winnipeg moving company recruited him to shoot the B.C. home of Punjabi singer A.P. Dhillon.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me that no one should be at home, and you just need to fire outside the house, and you will get money,\u201d Kingra, an Indian citizen, testified at his hearing.<\/p>\n Asked why the co-worker, also an Indian citizen, offered him the contract, Kingra replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe I am an idiot, that\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not that much intelligent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Canada Border Services Agency has asked the Refugee Board to order Kingra\u2019s deportation on the grounds that he is a member of a criminal organization, the\u00a0Bishnoi group<\/a>.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n The Board said it would release its decision on Monday.<\/p>\n Kingra is one of the first alleged Bishnoi members to face a public deportation hearing amid a crackdown on extortion crimes targeting South Asian Canadians.<\/p>\n The case is part of Canada\u2019s response to the epidemic of extortions that have spread fear in cities with large South Asian populations, particularly in B.C., Alberta, Winnipeg and Ontario.<\/p>\n Testifying by phone from the prison where he is being held in Mission, B.C., Kingra offered a glimpse into the workings of extortion gangs.<\/p>\n As a witness, Kingra displayed remarkable memory lapses, responding to many questions posed by the CBSA with, \u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n He denied being a Bishnoi member and said he was unaware the gang was behind the shooting he carried out until after he had done it.<\/p>\n \u201cI have nothing to do with this gang,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But like many extortion gang members, he said he came to Canada from India on a student visa in 2018 and worked a variety of jobs in B.C. and Manitoba.<\/p>\n He said that when a friend, Vikram Sharma, asked him to carry out the shooting, he did not initially agree, but after pondering the matter for a few days, he decided to do it.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n He said he did it for money. \u201cBecause I thought I would be able to help my family back home in India, because my job wasn\u2019t going well here.\u201d<\/p>\n The two of them drove from Winnipeg to Vancouver Island. They first scouted Dhillon\u2019s house and then returned later in the evening.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n After Sharma used gasoline to torch the vehicles in the driveway, Kingra fired 14 bullets at the home. Kingra used a phone to record a video of the shooting.<\/p>\n He said Sharma told him to make the video because \u201conly with the proof you can get money.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he didn\u2019t know how the video had found its way to the Bishnoi gang, which posted it online after taking responsibility for the incident.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:53 He denied knowing the Bishnoi group was behind the shooting until he heard news reports the next day, and saw the video he had recorded.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cEven I was surprised that it was everywhere on the news channels in the morning,\u201d he said. \u201cI made the video because he [Sharma]\u00a0said,\u00a0\u2018I will set the fire and my hands won\u2019t be free.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He also denied knowing who had contacted Sharma about the job, where he got the gun, how long they took to drive across Canada and where they stayed.<\/p>\n He said Sharma paid him in cash a few days after the shooting. He said he did not know where Sharma got the money.<\/p>\n Sharma fled Canada following the shooting and is now wanted by the RCMP.<\/p>\n A CBSA official, Jasbir Sandhu, argued that the Bishnoi gang uses a system of insulation, so that each member only knows the person above them in hierarchy.<\/p>\n Kingra pleaded guilty to the attack and is serving a six-year sentence, while awaiting trial for an August 2024 shooting in Surrey, B.C.<\/p>\n The judge who sentenced Kingra found he had committed the crime \u201cat the behest of a criminal organization known as the Bishnoi gang.\u201d<\/p>\n Dhillon was targeted because someone who had appeared in one of his music videos had \u201cfallen afoul of this organization,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n Sandhu said the attack was not an extortion. Rather, the gang was sending a message that it could reach anyone it wanted, he said.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n As police have stepped up their efforts against extortion gangs, they have come across hundreds of suspects who should not be in Canada.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore on Canada The cases have been referred to the CBSA, which said that as of\u00a0May 7,\u00a0it had opened 446 investigations and issued 118 removal orders.<\/p>\n Fifty-five suspects had been expelled from Canada, the CBSA said. A handful of more serious cases have been sent for deportation hearings, among them Kingra.<\/p>\n The gang is headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, a crime boss who has managed to run his organization despite having been imprisoned in India since 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bishnoi gang\u2019s major operations continue to be orchestrated by Mr. Bishnoi himself from behind bars,\u201d the CBSA official told the hearing.<\/p>\n He said Bishnoi uploads selfies from prison, as well as videos and photos of the gang\u2019s activities, \u201cin order to recruit young followers.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with his lieutenant, Goldy Brar, Bishnoi has recruited Indian youths to extort money, often from Canadian Sikh business owners and entertainers.<\/p>\n To underscore the seriousness of their threats, Bishnoi members typically drive to the homes of their victims at night, shoot at them and set fire to their properties.<\/p>\n As Global News first reported<\/a>, the Bishnoi gang brazenly sent a letter to a B.C. police station last August claiming it had 1,000 foot soldiers willing to carry out shootings.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:11 Adding to the crisis, the Indian government has used the Bishnoi gang to advance its interests in Canada through violence, the RCMP has alleged.<\/p>\n As part of its fight against Canadian Sikhs who support independence for India\u2019s Punjab, Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government allegedly hired Bishnoi.<\/p>\n At India\u2019s behest, the gang arranged for local members to kill Hardeep Singh Nijjar, president of a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., on June 18, 2023.<\/p>\n Nijjar was a leader of the Khalistan movement,\u00a0which is a thorn in India\u2019s side\u00a0for advocating the independence of Punjab.<\/p>\n A second assassination planned by\u00a0the Indian\u00a0prime minister\u2019s intelligence wing was disrupted by the United States. The target was also a Canadian.<\/p>\n Although the RCMP took the unusual step of warning the public about India\u2019s role in violence, Prime Minister Mark Carney has re-engaged with Modi.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n In response to U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s trade war, Carney has sought expanded trade with India, as with Canada\u2019s other top foreign interference adversary, China.<\/p>\n India\u2019s actions are part of a trend in which foreign states are hiring organized crime groups to conduct political assassinations in Western countries.<\/p>\n Canadian Sikh groups are concerned that Carney is neglecting their security concerns as he looks to Asia for new export markets amid White House hostility.<\/p>\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/national.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIndian crime group Bishnoi Gang\u2019s foot soldier sentenced in Canada\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tB.C. investigator reveals gang letter claimed 1,000 foot soldiers linked to extortion network\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n