VOI World/ Astha Pandey
In a major breakthrough for law enforcement, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a 28-year-old suspected gangster believed to be a crucial link in the shooting attacks targeting Kap’s Cafe, the Canada-based restaurant owned by comedian Kapil Sharma. The restaurant had been fi red upon multiple times this year, which has triggered alarms around the world, on the prospective scale of these transnational criminal networks operating all across India and abroad.
The man arrested is identified as Bandhu Maan Singh Sekhon, who was tracked down in Ludhiana, Punjab. He returned to India earlier this month. Police have also recovered a Turkiye made PX-3 pistol and eight live rounds from his possession. Investigators say he was responsible for arranging the weapons, logistical transport, and safe houses used by shooters associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and Canada-based criminal Goldy Dhillon.
The restaurant shootings that took place this year in July, August and October were allegedly coordinated from overseas, with gang members claiming responsibility on social media channels. However, no casualties or injuries were reported but these repeated attacks were intended to send threats to the comedian’s business for extortion and to further create fear among the Indian diaspora abroad, from businessmen and other international establishments.
Investigative officers involved in the search probe say Sekhon had travelled between Canada and India multiple times and may have acted as a channel of communication for coordinating logistics, procuring arms and facilitating the shooters’ movement. His arrest opens up a critical window into the gang and their expanding international footprint. Authorities believe it involves weapon and money laundering routes through Asia with handlers in Canada and operatives stationed over multiple Indian states.
With further interrogations underway, police are also mapping out the financial trails by examining encrypted communication records and tracking individuals linked to the wider network. More arrests are expected as agencies collaborate with international partners to uncover how extortion operations are being run across borders.
The shooting case has exposed how these organised crime syndicates are increasingly exploiting international mobility to threaten diaspora communities, launder money and orchestrate violence abroad. For the law enforcement, the challenge ahead with this arrest is having a breakthrough into one of the most critical links in the crime chain and exposing it to neutralise the network.
