Indo-Canadian businessman killed in targeted shooting in British Columbia

Darshan Singh Sahsi, 68, was identified as the victim by local media. The incident occurred on Monday, as Abbotsford Police Patrol officers responded to reports of a shooting just after 9.20am.

Upon arrival, officers secured the area and confirmed the incident was confined to a single parked vehicle on the roadway. They discovered Sahsi suffering from life-threatening injuries inside the vehicle. Despite lifesaving medical efforts of first responders, he succumbed to his injuries, Abbotsford Police Department said in a statement. No arrests have been made at this time.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has taken charge of the case. In a post on social media, IHIT said, “Shooting appears to be targeted, and investigation is in the early stages.”

According to the outlet CBC News, he was identified by his son Arpan. He said, “Of course we’re devastated because it does not make sense to us.”

“There was no threats, there was no blackmail, there was no extortion,” the outlet cited him as saying.

While shootings, often linked to extortion, have become rife in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, where Abbotsford is located, this is just the second instance of a murder. On June 11, businessman Satwinder Sharma had been shot dead.

Sahsi was well known as a philanthropist and a successful businessman who ran the Canam International, which is considered among the world’s leading recyclers of clothing.

According to a profile in the Hindustan Times in 2002, Sahsi was a brick kiln owner in Rajgarh village near Doraha before he moved to Vancouver in 1991. He also owned a plant in Kandla, Gujarat and a recycling facility in Panipat at the time.