Deportation hearing for Indian extortion suspect halted when officials can’t find him - BERITAJA

The deportation of a Bishnoi extortion pack personnel was put disconnected connected Thursday aft national officials could not find the suspect.

Just minutes into Abjeet Kingra’s deportation hearing, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) said it had mislaid way of the Indian citizen.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is attempting to deport Kingra, besides said it nary longer knew his whereabouts.

“Without knowing wherever he is, there’s not overmuch other we could do,” Azeem Lalji, the IRB personnel overseeing the case, said earlier shutting down the hearing.

The B.C. court, however, confirmed to BERITAJA that Kingra remained successful custody, awaiting proceedings for a shooting and arson astatine a Surrey home.

The Bishnoi gang is an India-based crime group down a activity of extortion unit targeting Canadian cities pinch ample South Asian populations.

It is simply a listed violent group successful Canada, which blames it for murders, shootings and arsons targeting salient South Asian organization members, businesses and taste figures.

Kingra is 1 of the first Bishnoi members to look a deportation proceeding amid a crackdown against extortion successful B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

But arsenic the lawsuit was group to statesman connected Thursday morning, he was not present. The IRB said it thought he was detained astatine the Pacific Institution successful Abbotsford, B.C.

When the jailhouse unit did not bring him to his virtual hearing, the IRB said it had conscionable learned that he had been moved but did not his caller location.

The IRB personnel said the proceedings would resume “in the very adjacent future.” The CBSA said it would effort to find retired wherever he was now held.

Neither the IRB nor CBSA responded to questions about the matter by deadline. The B.C. authorities referred questions to the national government.

Border officials are investigating 372 overseas citizens identified done B.C.’s extortion task force, the CBSA said connected Thursday.

Removal orders person been issued for 70 of them. Thirty-five person already been removed from Canada, the CBSA said. The figures are arsenic of March 12, 2026.

But a fistful person besides been sent to the Immigration and Refugee Board for deportation hearings, alleging they are inadmissible to Canada.

BERITAJA has learned that Kingra is facing deportation for allegedly being a personnel of a criminal organization.

Like galore of those implicated successful the extortion crisis, Kingra entered Canada connected a student visa. He worked for a moving institution successful Winnipeg.

But he was allegedly recruited into the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a crime group based successful India that makes money by extorting victims in Canada.

Last August, Kingra pleaded guilty to shooting the Vancouver Island location of Punjabi vocalist AP Dhillon. He besides group occurrence to the victim’s cars.

A security camera recorded flames erupting from the vehicles arsenic Kingra aimed a handgun astatine the house, fired disconnected 14 shots and fled into the waiting car.

The Bishnoi pack took work for the attack.

“Your extremity and your intent was fundamentally to terrorize Mr. Dhillon astatine the behest of a criminal statement known arsenic the Bishnoi gang,” the judge wrote astatine sentencing.

“Mr. Dhillon’s evident transgression was to person included an individual successful 1 of his euphony videos who had himself fallen afoul of this organization.”

Kingra was sentenced to six years.

“I take incorrect measurement to support my family,” Kingra later wrote successful a handwritten apology he addressed “to the unfortunate and community.”

“I consciousness sorry for my actions and I americium very ashamed.”

But past October, he was charged complete different incident. According to the charges, he changeable astatine and group occurrence to a location successful Surrey connected Aug. 10, 2024.

He is owed successful Surrey tribunal connected April 21. His alleged accomplice, Vikram Sharma, allegedly fled to India earlier he could beryllium arrested and remains wanted.

The RCMP has accused the Bishnoi pack of working for the authorities of India to termination Sikh activists, among them B.C. temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar was gunned down successful the parking batch of his Surrey, B.C. temple successful 2023. Four suspects allegedly tied to the Bishnoi pack look execution charges.

Canadian nationalist information agencies judge the sidesplitting was ordered by the Indian government, which group retired to termination opponents overseas successful 2022.

But while Ottawa expelled Indian diplomats successful 2024 complete their alleged domiciled successful unit successful Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney has worked to rebuild ties.

Canadian Sikh organizations person accused Carney of disregarding their information arsenic he seeks person waste and acquisition ties pinch India to offset a White House waste and acquisition war.

At the aforesaid time, the extortion run waged by the Bishnoi pack and others for illustration it person dispersed fearfulness successful South Asian communities.

Since the bulk of extortion pack members are from foreign nations, the CBSA has played an expanding domiciled successful the conflict against the crimes.

It has been moving pinch the B.C. Extortion Task Force and Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team successful Edmonton and Calgary, arsenic good arsenic constabulary successful Ontario.

“When constabulary place individuals who whitethorn beryllium successful usurpation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, they notify the CBSA who conducts investigations that whitethorn lead to migration enforcement action, including removal from Canada,” the agency said successful a statement past month.

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca