Kap's Cafe attack first Canada strike by Bishnoi Gang after terror listing
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is reported to have struck again with gunfire at comedian Kapil Sharma's cafe in Surrey, apparently undeterred by Canada's big move
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is reported to have struck again with gunfire at comedian Kapil Sharma's cafe in Surrey on Thursday, apparently undeterred by Canada's move to list the gang as a terror entity just weeks ago.
Gurpreet Singh, alias Goldy Dhillon, who has taken responsibility for this attack too on Kap's Cafe, has a ₹10-lakh reward on his head by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) too. He had claimed an earlier attack on the same establishment.
Also read | Firing at Kapil Sharma's Canada restaurant third time in four months: Report
The reason being cited by the gang is Kapil Sharma's closeness to Bollywood megastar Salman Khan, whom Lawrence Bishnoi claims to have a deeper problem with over allegations that he killed a blackbuck. The Bishnoi community is traditionally an animal-loving sect. Probe agencies, however, have linked it simply to extortion attempts.
Lawrence Bishnoi has been behind bars for years, at present lodged in the Sabarmati Prison in Gujarat.
Less than three weeks since terror listing
The government of Canada listed the Bishnoi as a “terror entity” on September 29. While Delhi has for long sought a handle on terror groups targeting India, the Liberal government in Ottawa has acted saying also that this gang “targets specific communities”, such as the diaspora, within Canada.
The listing came after reports over several months that the Bishnoi gang targeted pro-Khalistan elements, including Sikh Canadian citizens, inside Canada over the past few years.
PM Narendra Modi's government rubbishes reports that it indirectly uses this gang to target anti-India Sikh extremists in particular. Canada's assertions on this count even led to a freeze in relations. Delhi has been urging Ottawa to act against Khalistani terror elements and organised criminals based in Canada.
Since then, the two countries' foreign ministers, S Jaishankar and Anita Anand, have met and sought to “rebuild ties”.
Lawrence Bishnoi is a former student leader from Chandigarh and Punjab.
His gang is named in major cases in India, too, such as the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala and Mumbai politician Baba Siddiqui.
He was at one point seen wearing t-shirts with photos of slain Sikh separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, but has lately postured as a Hindu right-winger in more recent interviews from inside jail.
He has spent time in Tihar Jail in Delhi, and prisons in Punjab, for multiple cases.
Other prominent, at-large members of his gang include his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara, though there have been reports the latter two have broken away in more recent times.
Why Canada made the big move
“The Bishnoi Gang is a transnational criminal organization operating primarily out of India. They have a presence in Canada and are active in areas with significant diaspora communities,” the Canadian government's press release on the terror listing read.
Gary Anandasangaree, Canada's minister of public safety, said, "Every person in Canada has the right to feel safe in their home and community and as a government it is our fundamental responsibility to protect them. Specific communities have been targeted for terror, violence and intimidation by the Bishnoi Gang. Listing this group of criminal terrorists gives us more powerful and effective tools to confront and put a stop to their crimes.”
The killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, outside a gurdwara in June 2023 had put the Bishnoi gang at the centre of critical conversations in Canada.
In 2024, the Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for firing outside the homes of Punjabi singers AP Dhillon and Gippy Grewal in Canada.
Nijjar's killing sparked a bitter diplomatic duel as the then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian intelligence used “criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang" to carry out violence "against Canadians on the ground”. But Delhi rejected these allegations, underlining its many extradition requests for Bishnoi gang members pending with Canada.
What a terror listing means
With the addition of this organisation, there are now 88 terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code in Canada.
“A terrorist listing means anything owned by that group in Canada, property, vehicles, money can be frozen or seized and gives Canadian law enforcement more tools to prosecute terrorist offences, including those related to financing, travel and recruitment,” information released by the Canadian ministry said.
It added: “The Criminal Code listing can also be used by immigration and border officials to inform decisions on admissibility to Canada.”
