New information has emerged about a shocking shooting in British Columbia last month, in which a man was killed inside his office in the middle of the afternoon. Police never identified the victim, and for over a month his name remained unknown. An investigation has now learned more about who he was and about the questions surrounding his presence in Canada, bringing fresh scrutiny to a case described as cold-blooded and brazen.
The victim has been identified through a photograph obtained by the investigation. His name was Gurvikramjit Singh Waring, at least the name used at his funeral. He was also said to have used other aliases, including Satvir Singh Waring, Sam Canada, or simply Sam. The multiple identities have become part of the broader picture investigators and reporters have been piecing together.
According to police, the victim had no criminal history and was not the target of the extortion threats that have been plaguing Canada's South Asian communities. That account, however, sat uneasily alongside other information. A member of Parliament who works in the same building as the shooting said multiple people in the community had told her that Waring had threatened them, and that some had passed information they had to police.
Shortly after the killing, a social media post from an Indian gangster claimed responsibility for the shooting. The post said Sam was the main handler for the Bishnoi gang in Canada, a group that has been designated a terrorist entity. The claim placed the killing within the context of organised crime linked to that network, rather than a random act of violence.
An expert cited in the investigation said the Bishnoi gang has been embroiled in a bloody battle with a breakaway faction, and expressed the belief that Sam Canada was also part of that ongoing series of groups targeting one another. The framing suggested the shooting could be connected to an internal feud playing out among rival factions tied to the gang.
The social media post also claimed that Sam was tied to match fixing in cricket. Multiple sources said he was a close friend of Cricket Canada president Arvinder Kosa. Two months ago, Kosa acknowledged that he knew Sam, but only through cricket. In a new statement issued through his lawyer, Kosa declined to comment on the matter.
Questions have also been raised about how the victim came to be in Canada. One of his aliases reportedly appeared on a list put out by the Indian government three years ago of alleged Punjabi gangsters hiding in Canada, prompting the question of why he was not tracked down once that information was available. Police and government officials would not comment on that point. The RCMP, which is leading the investigation, confirmed the victim's identity after the story was published, but said it would not release any more information because doing so could compromise the ongoing case.