A deportation hearing for an Indian fraud suspect stalled when officials couldn’t find him
The deportation of a member of the Bishnoi gang was postponed on Thursday after government officials failed to locate the suspect.
Minutes into Abjeet Kingra’s deportation hearing, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) said it had lost track of the Indian.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is trying to deport Kingra, also said it no longer knows where he is.
“Without knowing where he is, there is nothing we can do,” said Azeem Lalji, a member of the IRB overseeing the case before closing the trial.
The BC court, however, confirmed to Global News that Kingra is still in custody, awaiting trial for the shooting and burning of the Surrey home.
The Bishnoi gang is an Indian-based criminal group behind a wave of violence targeting Canadian cities with a large South Asian population.
It is a Canadian-listed terrorist group, accused of murders, shootings and arson targeting members of the South Asian community, businesses and cultural figures.
Kingra is one of the first members of the Bishnoi to face deportation during the crackdown on extortion in BC, Alberta and Ontario.
But since the trial was supposed to start on Thursday morning, he was not there. The IRB said it thinks he is being held at the Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, BC
When the prison staff did not bring him to his trial, the IRB said that it had recently learned that he had been transferred but could not find his new place.
An IRB member said the trial would continue “soon.” The CBSA said it will try to find out where he was caught.
Neither the IRB nor the CBSA responded to questions about the matter by deadline. The BC government has referred questions to the federal government.
Border officials are investigating 372 foreign nationals identified by BC’s fraud task force, the CBSA said Thursday.
Removal orders were issued for 70 of them. 35 have been removed from Canada, the CBSA said. Statistics are as of 12 March 2026.
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But a number have also been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board for deportation proceedings, alleging that they are inadmissible to Canada.
Global News has learned that Kingra is facing deportation because he is suspected of being a member of a criminal organization.
Like many of those involved in the money laundering scandal, Kingra entered Canada on a student visa. He worked for a moving company in Winnipeg.
But he was allegedly recruited into the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, an Indian-based criminal group that made money by defrauding victims in Canada.
Last August, Kingra pleaded guilty to shooting up the Vancouver Island home of Punjabi singer AP Dhillon. He also burnt the deceased’s cars.
A security camera recorded the car fire when Kingra pointed a gun at the house, fired 14 shots and fled to a waiting car.
The Bishnoi gang retaliated against the attack.
“Your purpose and intent was to intimidate Mr.
“The obvious transgression of Mr.
Kingra was sentenced to six years.
“I choose the wrong way to support my family,” Kingra later wrote in a handwritten apology “to the victim and the community.”
“I regret my actions and I am very ashamed.”
But last October, he was charged with another incident. According to the charges, he shot and set fire to a house in Surrey on August 10, 2024.
He will appear in court in Surrey on April 21. His accomplice, Vikram Sharma, is said to have fled to India before he was arrested and is still wanted.
The RCMP has accused the Bishnoi gang of working with the Indian government to kill Sikh activists, including BC temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot of his temple in Surrey, BC in 2023. Four suspects who were allegedly arrested in the Bishnoi gang are facing murder charges.
Canada’s national security agencies believe the killing was ordered by the Indian government, which is determined to kill dissidents abroad by 2022.
But while Ottawa expelled Indian politicians in 2024 over their alleged role in violence in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney worked to rebuild the relationship.
Canadian Sikh organizations accuse Carney of neglecting their security as he seeks closer trade ties with India to end the White House trade war.
At the same time, the extortion campaign carried out by the Bishnoi gang and others like it has spread fear in South Asian communities.
Since many of the members of the theft gangs are from foreign countries, the CBSA has played an increasing role in the fight against crime.
It was working with the BC Extortion Task Force and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team in Edmonton and Calgary, as well as police in Ontario.
“If the police identify people who may be in violation of the Refugee Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, they notify the CBSA who conducts an investigation that may lead to confirmation of the person’s entry into the country, including removal from Canada,” the agency said in a statement last month.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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