Immigration tribunal orders deportation of Bishnoi gang associate

An immigration tribunal issued a deportation order Friday against an Edmonton-based student accused of hiding a gun used in a shooting at a Surrey, B.C., cafe owned by Indian comedian Kapil Sharma. The tribunal member found reasonable grounds to believe the student was a member of the Bishnoi gang.

Video evidence showed the student holding a gun at a party last summer, and Snapchat messages indicated he later asked a female associate to hold the weapon after police raids. The tribunal member said the actions contributed to the group's criminal aims by keeping the gun from authorities.

Gang activities in Canada and U.S.

The deportation order follows an indictment unsealed in Operation Hard Ball that links the Bishnoi gang to the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey and to extortion cases in Ontario and British Columbia. Police testimony at the hearing described a letter sent by the gang to Abbotsford police claiming 1,000 gunmen in Canada ready to carry out extortions.

The testimony also noted a fracture in the group that has produced several factions committing similar crimes. The tribunal member cited the gang's involvement in murders, shootings, and arsons across Canada, including actions by a rival lieutenant named Goldy Brar and another associate named Goldy Dhillon.

Evidence and testimony The student arrived in Canada from India in December 2022 and was applying for a post-graduate work permit when arrested last summer. Police connected him to a mid-level gang leader who visited from Calgary for a birthday party.

At the party, video showed the student holding the leader's gun to a friend's head. Later videos captured the group at a location where the leader fired the weapon into the air five times. Casings recovered from that incident matched 9 mm shell casings found after the May 2025 shooting at Kap's Cafe.