Abbotsford, Canada: A 28-year-old man of Punjabi origin was shot dead in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in what police have described as a targeted attack linked to ongoing gang rivalries connected to the drug trade.
The victim has been identified as Navpreet Singh Dhaliwal, a Canada-born resident whose family traces its roots to Sudhar village in Ludhiana district of Punjab. Investigators believe the killing is part of a wider conflict among rival groups operating in the province.
The shooting occurred shortly after midnight on January 9 at a residence in the 3200 block of Siskin Drive in West Abbotsford. Local police were alerted at 12:38 am and arrived to find Dhaliwal suffering from critical gunshot injuries. Despite emergency response efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Given the nature of the crime, the investigation was handed over to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). Authorities later confirmed that the incident was not random and was directly connected to gang-related activity in British Columbia.
Although police initially withheld the victim’s identity, it later emerged that Dhaliwal had previously come to the attention of law enforcement. Investigators acknowledged that he had alleged links to individuals involved in the province’s ongoing gang disputes and described the killing as a deliberate and planned act.
Sources in Sudhar village said Dhaliwal had limited ties with the area and had rarely visited India in recent years. His family migrated to Canada in the mid-1990s. His father, Gurjinder Singh Dhaliwal, moved abroad in 1995, two years before Navpreet was born.
Former Block Committee chairman and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Mehar Singh Dhaliwal, a relative of the deceased, said the family was shocked by the incident. He confirmed that Navpreet was the grandson of his cousin, Nazar Singh Dhaliwal.
According to family members, Navpreet was at home with his mother at the time of the attack. His father was at a local hospital attending to his elderly father. “The assailants forced their way into the house and fired at Navpreet while he was studying in his room,” Mehar Singh Dhaliwal said. “He was shot in the leg first. Before his mother could alert the police, the attackers fled after carrying out the shooting.”
In a disturbing development, individuals identified as Dony Bal and Mohabbat Randhawa later claimed responsibility for the killing through a social media post. They alleged that Dhaliwal posed an imminent threat to their lives and claimed they acted pre-emptively. Authorities have not verified these claims but are examining the post as part of the investigation.
Dhaliwal’s name had previously surfaced during a major drug trafficking probe launched by the Abbotsford Police Drug Enforcement Unit in 2022. He was arrested in 2024 and later released on strict conditions, including limitations on travel and social media activity.
Police have urged the public to refrain from speculation and to come forward with any information that may assist in the investigation. Meanwhile, the killing has once again highlighted concerns within the Punjabi diaspora about the spillover of organized crime and gang violence into residential communities across Canada.
