Police arrest Indo-Canadian tied to AP Dhillon residence shooting

Toronto: Canadian police have announced the arrest of an Indo-Canadian in connection with a firing at the residence of Punjabi entertainer AP Dhillon, apparently at the behest of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The West Shore detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP announced the arrest, which occurred on October 30, in a release on Thursday. The incident on September 2 involved firing at the residence as well arson, as two vehicles were torched.
The person arrested was identified as 25-year-old Abjeet Kingra, resident of Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba. Kingra has been charged with discharge of a firearm with intent, and arson. He was arrested from a location in Ontario.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for 23-year-old Vikram Sharma, who is believed to be currently in India.
“We will continue to pursue this investigation as well as the outstanding suspect until they have been located and arrested,” Officer-in-charge of West Shore RCMP Superintendent Todd Preston, said.
No link to the Bishnoi gang was mentioned in the release, which added, “As this investigation is ongoing and before the courts no further information will be released at this time.”
The police action assumes significance as Canadian media reported recently that Amritpal Singh or AP Dhillon was targeted by the Bishnoi gang and linked it to the Government’s allegations that Indian agents were responsible for a spate of violent crimes in Canada. Those allegations led to Inda withdrawing six diplomats and officials from Canada on October 14 after they were declared “persons of interest” in investigations being conducted by the RCMP and other Canadian law enforcement agencies.
Indian media had reported that the Bishnoi gang targeted Dhillon as he collaborated with Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Bishnoi’s lieutenant Rohit Godara had taken responsibility for the shooting in a social media post.
Earlier, in April this year, shots were fired at Khan’s residence in Mumbai and Bishnoi was named by Indian police in that connection.