Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 25
A shootout as a result of a gang war in Canada’s Vancouver left gangster Maninder Dhaliwal and friend Satinder Gill dead, according to a report in Vancouver Sun.
According to the report, the deceased belonged to the “Brothers Keepers” gang.
The report said, “At the time of shooting near Sundial Hotel in the heart of Whistler village in Vancouver, gangster Maninder Dhaliwal, 29, was accompanied by friend Satinder Gill, who was not involved in the gang.”
Dhaliwal died on the spot, while Gill succumbed to his injuries at a health centre.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed late on Sunday that the shooting was linked to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict.
“Sea-to-Sky Royal Canadian Mounted Police were able to locate and apprehend multiple individuals,” Sergeant Timothy Pierotti said, adding that a burning vehicle found afterwards in the 3300-block of Ptarmigan Place was linked to the murders.
The incident comes 10 days after an eerily similar killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who had been acquitted of charges of bombing an Air India plane.
The two latest victims were shot in broad daylight while sitting in a car in a public place like Ripudaman Malik and as in that incident, a car was also found burning nearby, according to media reports.
The two incidents, however, have not been linked by officials.
Two persons who have not been publicly identified have been arrested in connection with the latest killings, CTV reported quoting officials.
But there have been no arrests as yet in the killing of Malik.
Dhaliwal, along with his brother Barinder, was on a list of six men, four of them of Indian descent, released last year by the Vancouver Police Department which called them “gangsters” who “pose a significant risk to the safety of the public”.
Police Chief Adam Palmer warned while releasing their pictures, “Our police intelligence leads us to believe that the individuals we have identified today may be targeted by rival gang members.”
Dhaliwal was a member of a gang known as “Brothers Keeper” (BK), while Gill was not known to be involved with gangs, the Vancouver Sun reported.
Dhaliwal’s brother was killed last year in April, the newspaper’s website said.
CTV said that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) confirmed Dhaliwal and Gill had been targeted and the shooting was linked to an ongoing gang conflict in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland region that includes Vancouver.
The Sun said the BK has been involved in violent conflicts over the years with the gang known as “United Nations” and with some members of “Red Scorpions”.
It said last year Dhaliwal’s brother Harb was killed outside a Vancouver restaurant when he was with him and Barinder.
Maninder chased the gunman, Francoise Gauthier, and stabbed him in the eye, but did not face charges, it added.
Gauthier admitted last month in a Canadian court to carrying out the murder and was sentenced to life in prison, the Sun reported.
It said that both Maninder and Barinder had been shot several times in the past. (With IANS inputs)