Indian national Abhijit Singh Kingra, convicted of carrying out an extortion attack at the Victoria-area home of Punjabi singer AP Dhillon, has told Canada Immigration that he will be killed if he is deported back to India. Kingra said in his testimony that he did not understand that he was working for the Bishnoi gang when he attacked.
I got news that this gang was threatening my family in India and they said they would kill me if I went back,” Kingra said. Kingra insisted he was not a member of the Bishnoi gang.
Since I’m not a member of their gang – they think I’m here to help the police because I was the first one arrested,” Kingra said. Kingra’s revelation came during an admissibility hearing to determine whether he should be deported to India for organised crime.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to six years for arson and firearms offences for his role in the incident, in which Kingra and his co-accused set vehicles on fire and fired 14 bullets from a handgun in front of Dhillon’s home.
‘I was surprised; I was on every news channel. ‘Kingara said he was surprised when he saw the video he had filmed on every news channel.
“Even I was surprised by this footage everywhere on the news channels in the morning,” he said. “If I had known earlier that the Bishnoi gang was involved and it was such a serious matter – extortion and all that – then I would have refused at that time.
“My family was already receiving threats, and now it will be 100 per cent for them because things will be out in the media,” Kingra said. “And if I went to India – of course – they would kill me,” Kingra said.
He came to Canada in 2018 on a student visa. While he was doing various odd jobs, he met Vikram Sharma, co-accused in the arson case at AP Dhillon’s house. Kingra said Sharma offered him $4000 to join the attack and that AP Dhillon’s house would remain vacant.
But it was not. Although Dhillon was not home, his roommate narrowly escaped injury. Kingra said Sharma gave him the money in cash and never told him who he did it for.
