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Indo-Canadian gangster shot in Vancouver

Two months after his brother was gunned down in Vancouver, another Indo-Canadian has become the latest victim in the ongoing gang war in the province of British Columbia.

Updated on: Jul 29, 2023, 10:13:57 IST
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Two months after his brother was gunned down in Vancouver, another Indo-Canadian has become the latest victim in the ongoing gang war in the province of British Columbia.

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HT Image

On Thursday evening, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment in the town of Richmond responded to reports of a shooting. A critically injured male was found and despite attempts at life-saving measures by emergency responders, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.

On Friday, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or IHIT, which was tasked with the case, identified the victim on Friday as 36-year-old Ravinder Samra. On May 28 this year, his brother, 28-year-old Amarpreet Samra, was shot dead outside a banquet hall in Vancouver.

“Mr Samra was known to police and we believe this was a targeted shooting associated to the BC Gang Conflict,” IHIT spokesperson Cpl Sukhi Dhesi said in a statement issued on Friday.

That was in line with what law enforcement had said when his younger brother was killed. At that time, the Vancouver Police Department noted in a release that investigators believed that “was a targeted shooting related to the ongoing gang conflict.”

The brothers, according to the outlet Vancouver Sun, were considered to be affiliated to the United Nations gang, which was in conflict with others, including Brothers Keepers.

In August last year, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit or CFSEU-BC had released a list of 11 individuals allegedly linked to gangs, nine of whom were Indo-Canadians, and warned this was being done “due to the significant threat to the public posed by a number of individuals involved in the Lower Mainland gang conflict and their ongoing nexus to violence.”

Among those listed were the Samra brothers. That warning had added, “Police believe anyone with, or in the proximity to these individuals may be putting themselves at risk.”

  • Anirudh Bhattacharyya
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Anirudh Bhattacharyya

    Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More

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