Kapil Sharma Cafe Shooting: How a Wave Of Extortions & Violence From India Is Shaking B.C.’s Punjabi Community

"The disinformation and propaganda being pushed by Indian media following the Kap's Café shooting...is a deliberate attempt to distort reality and damage our community’s reputation.”

Balpreet Singh
July 10, 2025 | 3.5 min. Read | Analysis

The shooting outside Kap’s Café in Surrey early Thursday morning marks yet another chapter in an increasingly violent and unsettling pattern targeting prominent members of B.C.’s Punjabi community.

Not long after the incident, a Germany-based fugitive named Harjeet Singh “Laddi” allegedly posted a video online claiming responsibility for the shooting. Almost immediately, Indian media outlets labeled him a “Khalistani terrorist” affiliated with the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), citing a reward notice issued by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA). Yet notably, Laddi never mentioned BKI in his statements. Also, no Canadian law enforcement agency has identified any ideological motive behind the attack; only that a crime was committed.

This attack is not an isolated event. Over the past 18 months, a disturbing series of shootings have targeted prominent Punjabi celebrities in British Columbia.

In November 2023, multiple rounds were fired at the White Rock home of singer-actor Gippy Grewal. In April 2024, AP Dhillon’s North Vancouver property was the site of a drive-by shooting. In June of this year, bullets struck a trucking business tied to rapper Karan Aujla in Surrey. And now, the incident involving comedian Kapil Sharma’s café continues this wave of intimidation.

What all these cases share is a common thread of extortion. The India-based Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate has been repeatedly linked to these attacks. Delhi Police claimed the Gippy Grewal shooting was a warning issued by Bishnoi’s network. Bishnoi’s close associate, Goldy Brar, admitted the AP Dhillon hit was “purely for extortion.” Local law enforcement in Canada has investigated the Karan Aujla shooting for similar motives. Following these events, B.C. Premier David Eby formally requested that Ottawa designate the Bishnoi syndicate as a terrorist organization.

Investigators in both India and Canada say the mechanics of these extortion schemes begin inside India, where jail authorities allow gang leaders like Bishnoi to orchestrate threats and attacks from behind bars. Funds move through hawala networks and cryptocurrency, eventually landing in the hands of local shooters in Canada.

However, the implications of this network go beyond organized crime. Canada’s National Security Adviser Nathalie Drouin has testified before parliamentarians that India collected intelligence on Sikhs in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies, then passed it to Indian authorities who worked with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The links and collusion between the Government of India and criminal gangs are no longer a secret.

The January 2025 report from Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission confirmed that India is among the countries actively attempting to sway Canadian politics and intimidate diaspora communities through disinformation and covert operations. Public hearings revealed allegations that Indian intelligence has leveraged criminal gangs to foment chaos in Canada, creating the illusion of lawlessness and extremism in Sikh spaces.

When all the pieces are put together, a troubling picture emerges. Whether the attackers claim allegiance to the Bishnoi gang or are labeled “Khalistani extremists” by Indian officials, the tactics are largely the same: threats, extortion, and targeted violence aimed at prominent Punjabi figures in Canada. The result is a narrative tug-of-war. New Delhi baselessly frames the violence as evidence of growing “Khalistani extremism”, while those in Canada, including security and intelligence, see it as a coordinated campaign of criminal activity, potentially enabled or exploited by the Indian state as part of a larger transnational repression campaign.

According to WSO President Danish Singh, “This wave of violence has its roots in Indian gang networks, and it is now abundantly clear that these gangs have ties to the Government of India. The goal is to create chaos in Canada and smear the Sikh community. The disinformation and propaganda being pushed by Indian media following the Kapil Sharma café shooting, including efforts to falsely link it to Khalistan and portray it as ‘Sikh extremism’, is a deliberate attempt to distort reality and damage our community’s reputation.”

The WSO and other Sikh bodies have long warned that India must be held accountable for its campaign of violence, foreign interference, and transnational repression. Canada, for its part, must respond forcefully. This includes designating the Lawrence Bishnoi network as a terrorist entity, identifying and sanctioning Indian government officials involved in directing or colluding with these attacks, and launching a full public inquiry into how Indian state actors are working with criminal syndicates to destabilize Canadian communities.

For Canada, the stakes are high.

British Columbia’s call to list the Bishnoi network as a terrorist organization is a direct response to growing fears of public safety, yet Ottawa must tread carefully amid diplomatic tensions with India. At the same time, it must act decisively to protect the safety of Canadians, especially those in communities under threat.

The shooting at Kap’s Café should not be viewed in isolation, nor should Harjit Laddi be painted solely with the ideological brush chosen by Indian security services. From the shooting at Gippy Grewal’s home to the firing at Karan Aujla’s property, the pattern is clear: profit-driven - all as India-rooted gang crime with links to the Government of India thrives in a cloud of political fog.

Clearing that fog now falls to Canadian law enforcement and policymakers. The safety of Canadian streets and the protection of its communities depend on it.

Balpreet Singh hails from Toronto, Canada, and is the spokesperson and legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada.

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