TORONTO (TIP): Growing evidence of the involvement of Indian youth in the recent spurt in the incidence of extortion and shootings at business and residential premises in the localities mostly inhabited by the Indian diaspora has started hawking media headlines in Canada.
After the arrest of two “foreigners” by Surrey police last week, three more “foreigners” have landed behind bars. All five of these “foreigners” are none other than Punjabi boys, who have no legal status in Canada. It is why they are described as “foreigners” in the Canadian police or immigration parlance.
The latest three men were arrested on February 1 by the Surrey Police Service (SPS) following a firing incident.
Normally, the police do not share photographs of suspects arrested in various criminal cases until charges are proven in a court of law. But in the last two cases, the Surrey Police Service has released their pictures to solicit public attention to further its investigations into extortion cases that have been rocking several parts of Canada for the past year.
In the early hours of February 1, Surrey Police Service (SPS) members assigned to Project Assurance, working in collaboration with SPS’s Major Crime Section, were patrolling in Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighborhood when reports came in of shots being fired and a small fire outside a residence. Three accused were arrested as they were trying to get into a rideshare vehicle.
SPS’s Major Crime Section took over the investigation, and Harjot Singh (21), Taranveer Singh (19), and Dayajeet Singh Billing (21) have been charged with various sections, including discharging a firearm into a place in violation of the law. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming.
All three were remanded in custody as the SPS confirmed that they were all foreign nationals and engaged the Canada Border Services Agency.
While releasing the photos of Harjot Singh, Taranveer Singh, and Dayajeet Singh Billing, SPS said in a communique that the public release of images of Harjot Singh, Taranveer Singh, and Dayajeet Singh Billing prompts additional witnesses, victims, or associates to come forward with relevant information regarding the activities of one or more on the morning of or before February 1, 2026.
Earlier, SPS had released pictures of two Punjabi youth captured after a similar early morning shooting incident outside a Surrey home. The focus of investigations has now shifted to “outsiders” for their alleged involvement in shooting and extortion cases, giving credence to the oft-repeated allegation of the Indian community in general and the Punjabi community in particular that “Indian gangsters” were behind these transnational incidents of crime.
(Prabhjot Singh, based in Toronto, is a senior journalist. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com)
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