The 16 shots fired at Ranbir Singh Mand’s home in Caledon, Ont., last Thursday punctured walls and shattered windows in what the Ontario Provincial Police are calling a “targeted incident.”
Police did not elaborate but Ranbir and his brother Dharmjit said in interviews that a man claiming to be part of India’s Bishnoi gang had been trying to extort $2-million from the family.
“It’s a normal thing now,” Ranbir told Global News, as an investigation into the latest shooting to target the family continued without any reported arrests.
The sequence of events the brothers described — a demand for money, followed by threats and shootings — has become so widespread in parts of Ontario and B.C., that police in both provinces have formed extortion task forces.
For its part, the federal government has listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organization, alongside the likes of Hamas and ISIS, and pledged $4 million to the B.C. Extortion Task Force.
But police and immigration officials are struggling to dismantle the gangs, which have spread fear in South Asian communities in the Canadian cities in which they now operate.
The issue hit headlines again last week, when Global News reported that 15 extortion suspects had claimed refugee status, possibly prolonging their deportations.
Their victims face a stark choice: quietly pay off the gangs or risk violence that begins with threats and can escalate to drive-by shootings, arsons and murder.
But Ranbir, who runs a contracting business with his brother, said his family does not have the money demanded by the extortionist he said had been pestering them.
In some of the messages the brothers showed Global News, the alleged extortionist accused Dharmjit of selling drugs to Punjabi youths, which he said was not true.
“They think they’re above the law,” Ranbir said of the gangs, whose leaders in India recruit local foot soldiers who have often entered Canada on student visas.
He wants the government to do more to tackle the crime groups that are shooting up houses like his.
“They get arrested and they are out on the street in a matter of days,” he said. “They’re treating them like they’re just like regular shoplifters.”
The demands for money started about three months ago, the brothers said. The calls were all from the same person, who identified himself as Raja, which is likely a false name.
From the beginning, they said, Raja claimed to be a member of the Bishnoi gang, whose leader Lawrence Bishnoi has been imprisoned in India since 2014.
While Bishnoi is essentially an extortion and drug gang, the RCMP has alleged it also conducts attacks in Canada at the direction of the government of India.
When he first called, Dharmjit said, Raja told him he had been chosen to “donate” $2 million. He said he knew Dharmjit had the money and that it was his duty to pay up, he added.
Dharmjit said he hung up, brushing it off as a prank. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to extort money from him.
“I don’t have any issue with Lawrence Bishnoi,” he said. “I don’t have no issue with the Indian government. I don’t have no issue with anyone here.”
It was, Dharmjit decided, just someone trying to scare him. But he said Raja kept calling and texting, so Dharmjit blocked the number, which used a Portuguese country code.
He also reported the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police, but he said they told him a lot of people had received calls of a similar nature and it could be a scam.
On Nov. 23, Dharmjit was driving when he got a call from a British number. It was Raja again. Dharmjit hung up, but Raja persisted. He phoned again the next day, angry that Dharmjit was not taking his calls.
“We’re going to show you what we can do,” Raja said, according to Ranbir.
The following night, a car drove past Dharmjit’s farm in Caledon with the window rolled down. Gunshots rang out. Dharmjit wasn’t home at the time. The threats had driven him to a hotel. Members of his family were inside at the time, though nobody was hurt.
To leave no doubt about who was responsible, Raja sent a video, said Dharmjit, who shared it with Global News. It showed a handgun aimed out a car window, firing seven times in quick succession.
The phone calls and messages soon resumed, taking responsibility for the shooting and saying they were targeting Dharmjit because he sold drugs, which he insisted was untrue.
In a social media post, Raja wrote that “what happened today was just a warning. If he still does not change we will kill him, so that our future Punjabi generation can be saved from drugs.”
The account’s profile photo was a picture of Lawrence Bishnoi that is widely available online.
The Mand family now knew that it was a shakedown, they said. “I was stunned,” his brother said. “I said ‘holy shit, it’s real, the threat is real. They weren’t bluffing.’”
Police came to the house and told Dharmjit he should find somewhere else to stay for a while, so he moved into his brother’s nearby rural home.
But the threats kept coming, two or three a week, he recalled. A voice recording he received over WhatsApp in Punjabi said the next shooting would target Dharmjit.
“This time, the bullets were fired outside. I hope I don’t have to come inside your home and shoot you in the forehead the next time,” according to a translation of the recording, which the family shared with Global News.
“Think about that,” he continued. “I’m after you now. I’ve stopped everything else I’m doing, and now I’m after you. Run wherever you want to run to.”
“I’m going to kill you in the end anyway.”
Ranbir had security cameras installed outside his home, he said. Every car that slowed as it passed by seemed menacing, he added. He kept a gun beside his bed, just in case.
“My family was a little cautious, the kids were a little bit worried,” Ranbir said. But they decided they had to carry on regardless. “We can’t just hide.”
Then, at about 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 11, a car passed Ranbir’s house and a hail of bullets struck. The mayhem lasted only a few seconds, he said. Nobody was hurt.
“There was a big noise. It’s like glass breaking,” he said. “And my neighbours also woke up and they also called the police.”
“I was scared and I was also angry.”
Police spent the day at the crime scene, marking the bullet holes and collecting casings, he said. The OPP said the incident was under investigation but no arrests have been made.
“Investigators believe this is a targeted incident,” the OPP wrote in a news release Saturday that said the Major Crime Unit was seeking surveillance and dash cam video from the area.
A Punjabi-language social media post on Sunday claimed responsibility for the shooting, adding “This is the last warning.” Global News was unable to confirm its authenticity.
Ranbir said he can’t be sure Raja is really a member of the Bishnoi gang. For all he knows, it could just be someone exploiting the notoriety attached to the name.
He doesn’t know why Raja is targeting his family, nor does he know anyone who has the kind of money demanded by the gangs, but he said anyone that wealthy was probably too big to take on.
“Those big guys may be out of their reach. That’s why they’re coming for just normal guys, who have small shops or run a small business,” Ranbir said.
He pointed the finger at politicians he said are “just playing games. They’re blaming each other. The federal blame the provincial, the federal Liberals blame the PC (Conservatives), the PC blame Liberals.”
“So I don’t think anyone wants to do anything.”
Dharmjit said he’d had enough, that he had rented a home in the U.S. and sent his children there. He intends to sell his properties and join them, he said.
“How can we live in this country?” he said. “It’s not safe anymore … There’s too many criminals walking on the streets. They can shoot anyone.”
“The government is not doing their job properly.”
