How 'Canadian Dream' of Gen Next of Punjabi diaspora is getting shattered

New Delhi: Jimi ‘Slice’ Sandhu could have been a dream Punjabi diaspora story from Canada. He moved from Punjab to Canada’s Abbotsford at the age of seven but in his teenage years, there were enough indications of a dream about to be shattered. 

He never obtained Canadian citizenship and due to involvement in gangs and drugs, Sandhu was deported from Canada but rather than returning home, he chose to make the hot tourist destination Phuket his base while travelling to other neighbouring countries and remaining a key figure of his gang operating in British Columbia.

On February 4 last year, he was killed in Phuket outside the resort he was staying with two hired gunmen firing 10 shots. 

A Thai-Canadian probe later found that the gunmen were hired by a rival gang in Canada and were ex-Canadian soldiers. One of the gunmen was killed in a plane crash and the other was deported to Thailand to face charges.

Jimi is not the only example of a shattered Canadian dream.

In May this year, rival gang members killed Amarpreet ‘Chucky’ Samra, 28, while he was attending a wedding in Vancouver. He was also a key figure in the ‘UN’ gang and it was reported that the hit was ordered by rival ‘Brothers Keepers Group’.

Only a month earlier, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-British Columbia of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police released a list of 11 dreaded criminals in the province and nine of them were of Punjabi origin.

The dark underbelly of the Punjabi diaspora, littered with drugs, gang violence and terrorism, is often overlooked when the success stories are recounted.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister famously said in 2016 that he had more Sikhs in his cabinet than the cabinet of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

But the diaspora violence has now acquired an epic scale.

In July 2022, Meninder Dhaliwal, an alleged Brothers Keepers gangster, was killed near Whistler Village Hotel in a shootout. His friend Sat Gill, who had no gang involvement, too was injured in the firing and later succumbed to his injuries. 

A year earlier Meninder’s brother too was killed by rival gangs. The Canadian police arrested two diaspora boys - 24-year-old Gursimran Sahota and 20-year-old Tanvir Khakh - for the murder of Meninder Dhaliwal.

So, it should not come as a surprise if gangsters from Punjab - Goldy Brar, Arsh Dalla or Lakhbir Landa - after fleeing from India find acceptance in the Canadian gangland.

These notorious gangsters are not only involved in criminal activities but also in terrorism.

Brar is wanted for the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala while Dalla and Landa are wanted for terror attacks - like an RPG attack on Punjab Police intelligence headquarters.

Indian police officials say the Canadian authorities have long turned a blind eye to Khalistani activities due to internal politics but now chickens have come home to roost.

To be continued...