Gunfire at Kapil Sharma's Canada Café; Khalistani Terrorist Claims It

A few days after comedian Kapil Sharma launched his first café, Kap's Café, in British Columbia, Canada, the establishment was targeted in a shocking act of gun violence. Bullets shattered the café’s front window, although no one was injured in the incident. The attack, which occurred shortly after the café's soft launch, has now been claimed by Harjeet Singh Laddi, a wanted Khalistani extremist with known ties to the banned terror group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Surveillance footage captured a man firing multiple shots from inside a vehicle, damaging the front of the café. Laddi, currently residing in Germany, is already on India's most-wanted list and has a ₹10 lakh bounty on his head. He's also accused of orchestrating the 2024 murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar in Punjab, allegedly under orders from Pakistan-based BKI chief Wadhwa Singh Babbar.

Sources suggest that Laddi may have been provoked by a past remark made by Sharma, possibly triggering the violent act. The incident has sparked a full-scale investigation by Canadian authorities, with forensic teams deployed at the scene.

This attack has reignited concerns over Khalistani extremism in Canada. A recent Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report had warned of continued efforts by Khalistani outfits to use Canada as a base for fundraising, propaganda, and plotting violence in India. India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has previously criticized the Canadian government for allowing extremist ideologies to flourish under the guise of free speech.

Diplomatic ties between India and Canada have been strained since 2023, following former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Though relations began to improve under Prime Minister Mark Carney, incidents like the Kap’s Café shooting risk further damaging the fragile balance. Babbar Khalsa International, the group linked to Laddi, is infamous for its role in the 1985 Air India bombing and the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, underscoring the seriousness of this latest development.