Waiter in Dubai, pharmacist & Uber driver in Canada — man held for plotting attack on Kapil Sharma’s cafe

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said Sekhon is allegedly a close confidant of gangster Goldy Dhillon, who has claimed responsibility for all the three shootings at Sharma’s café on July 10, August 7 and October 16 – allegedly orchestrated by gangsters as part of an intimidation and extortion bid.

Goldy Dhillon alias Gurpreet Singh, who hails from Rajpura in Punjab, is a close associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in India.

Sources in the police said Sekhon was arrested in Canada in March for his alleged involvement in an extortion case, but after being monitored with a GPS anklet tracker, he was released in August.

During questioning, Sekhon allegedly told police that he had travelled to Canada on September 13, 2023, on an employment visa. He initially stayed at 9, Frank Town Space Drive in Brampton, and later stayed with his aunt while he worked as a driver with Uber.

“There, he came in contact with Goldy Dhillon gang members like Daljot Rehal, Seepu, Sharry, and others – all residents of Punjab. Subsequently, he joined the gang and became a key operative and started providing logistical support to the gang,” Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Surender Kumar said.

Sekhon fled to India following a crackdown by Surrey Police in which several of his associates were arrested, Kumar said.

According to DCP Yadav, Sekhon allegedly provided logistical support, including vehicle and weapons, to Dhillon’s shooters who fired at Sharma’s cafe in July and August. “Sekhon was in Canada at the time of the shooting but later came back to India. After returning to India, he was trying to rebuild the network of Goldy Dhillon’s gang in Punjab to extort businessmen and carry out shootings against other rival gangs,” the officer said.

Kumar said. “Previously, he was also associated with the gang of Harry Chatha, a gangster-turned-terrorist who is currently working for the ISI and is in Pakistan. At that time, Sekhon had been arrested in extortion cases related to India-based businessmen living in Canada and the US.”

The DCP told The Indian Express that Sekhon had bought the recovered China-made pistol for Rs 8 lakh from Punjab-based gangster Sonu Khatri, who is currently in the United States. Yadav said Sonu is allegedly a part of an international weapons’ trafficking module allegedly linked to ISI-backed handlers in Pakistan.

Last week, 10 foreign-made semi-automatic pistols, including high-end Turkiye-manufactured PX-5.7 models used exclusively by special forces, and 92 live cartridges, were seized by the Crime Branch. Four key operatives of this syndicate were also arrested.

“During questioning, these four accused revealed the name of Shekhon. Following this, raids were conducted at Ludhiana and Shekhon was arrested by a team led by Inspector Man Singh and Inspector Sunder Gautam,” Yadav said.

Sharma’s cafe at Surrey in Canada has been targeted thrice since July. While no one was injured, Dhillon’s name has emerged in connection with two of the attacks after he allegedly claimed responsibility for the shootings through social media posts.

The most recent shooting at the cafe occurred on October 16. After the incident, a purported social media post containing a video of the shooting — in which bullets can be seen striking the café’s glass window from inside a car — surfaced online. The post, uploaded from a Facebook account under the name Kulvir Sidhu, claimed that Sidhu and Dhillon carried out the attack. It also said that they held no animosity towards the public but warned that anyone who speaks against their religion should be prepared to be targeted.

Last July, the National Investigation Agency had filed a chargesheet in connection with an extortion and firing case in Chandigarh against Dhillon and nine others, including Canada-based designated terrorist Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar.