1 day ago
Swift News
A judge has sentenced a man to two years in jail for arson and six years for discharging a firearm into a place where a person may be present for his role in the 2024 shooting at Punjabi musician and producer AP Dhillon's Colwood, B.C., home.
Abjeet Kingra, a 26-year-old Winnipeg man, was sentenced in Victoria on Sept. 26 after pleading guilty in August.
According to RCMP, the judge wrote in their decision that Kingra was acting on the direction of the Lawrence Bishnoi crime group in India, to commit targeted, criminal acts in Canada.
The sentencing came just days before the federal government announced it would list the Bishnoi Gang, which it says is a transnational criminal organization that "engages in murder, shootings and arson, and generates terror through extortion and intimidation," as a terrorist entity.
RCMP say they have issued an arrest warrant for a second suspect, Vikram Sharma, who is believed to have left Canada.
"The sentencing of Abjeet Kingra is the result of months of dedicated investigative work by our officers," said Insp. Stephen Rose, acting officer in charge of West Shore RCMP.
"While we are pleased to see accountability in this case, our work is not done. We remain committed to locating Vikram Sharma and bringing him before the courts."
Kingra will serve his sentences concurrently and is expected to spend about 4½ in jail, after time served since his October 2024 arrest. The court also imposed a lifetime firearms ban and a DNA order on him.
