Violence targeting B.C.’s South Asian community hasn’t abated despite increased attention from authorities.
VANCOUVER — Back-to-back shootings this week — one at a palatial home owned by a Punjabi music producer, the other at an industrial park near the Fraser River — suggest the violence targeting B.C.’s South Asian community hasn’t abated despite increased attention from authorities.
Both the Maple Ridge home and the Surrey business have been threatened before, although police wouldn’t say if either of the recent shootings has been linked to extortion.
“People are concerned, and I think they should be concerned,” said Reeta Tremblay, a professor emerita in the University of Victoria’s political science department. “But I think it’s good we are talking about it, that this is being brought out into the open.”
Tremblay said it’s important to counter the violence — and fears that it may be connected to organized crime groups with roots in India — by addressing it head-on.
She applauded B.C. Premier David Eby for asking the federal government to classify the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist group earlier this week. The premier said the Indian gang had been linked to some extortions.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Tremblay. “It recognizes that this is a problem.”
She was also heartened to see Canada strengthening ties with India at the recent G7 meeting, saying increased co-operation with Indian authorities will be key to rooting out international organized crime groups.
But despite the increased political attention, the violence appeared to continue this week.
Surrey police said they were called to a business in an industrial area on 116 Avenue early Thursday after a report of shots fired. In the pre-dawn hours, they found several bullet casings and damage to buildings and vehicles. While there were employees on-site during the shooting, no one was injured.
It was the second time police were called to the property in less than 24 hours. Early Wednesday, security guards chased away people who were pouring gasoline on vehicles.
That same morning in Maple Ridge, RCMP responded to a call from a home that had been sprayed by bullets on the edge of the city. The large house on 266th Street, which appears to be for sale, was struck several times.
Maple Ridge RCMP confirmed it was the second time the house had been threatened. At the end of May, officers were called to the same location after someone reported shots fired.
Asked if the shootings might be linked to an extortion attempt, an RCMP spokesperson said it was too early to tell, but confirmed police would be speaking to officers in other cities.
Property records show the Maple Ridge home is owned by a Punjabi music producer who owns a successful record company.
Past extortion attempts have also targeted people associated with the South Asian entertainment industry. In 2024, shots were fired at Punjabi music star AP Dhillon’s Colwood home, while two cars in the driveway were set on fire. In 2023, shots were fired outside Bollywood singer and actor Gippy Grewal’s home in West Vancouver.
In both cases, Indian media said the Bishnoi gang had claimed responsibility due to the men’s ties to an Indian actor who was accused of hunting blackbuck, a sacred animal in the Bishnoi community. The actor, Salman Khan, had appeared in a music video for Dhillon.
But others are more reluctant to link the Indian gang to the attacks happening in B.C.
Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed accused Eby of “raising Bishnoi’s profile” by asking for the gang to be classified as a terrorist group.
“It’s a political response when what is needed is an operational response,” he said.
He said that while Bishnoi’s name has certainly been mentioned by extortionists in their threats, it’s unclear if the gang is behind the extortions, or if it’s simply being invoked as an intimidation tactic.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the fact that it’s unclear who is behind the attacks is challenging.
“That’s why I’m calling on the province and our national police, the RCMP, to really put their shoulder into this,” she said.
The possibility of international organized crime involvement means “it’s going to take our national police,” she said.
Locke wants to see police establish a tip line, as well as better co-ordination between the RCMP and police forces across the country.
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