Latest news with #NewsDerby
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Shots fired at newly opened Kapil Sharma's cafe in Canada
Toronto: Multiple shots were fired at a newly opened cafe in Canada, owned by Indian comedian and screen star Kapil Sharma. Kap's Cafe in Surrey, British Columbia, which was fired at by unknown persons in the early hours of Thursday. (Credit: Sameer Kaushal/NewsDerby) Kap's Café, which was inaugurated recently, was targeted in the early hours of Thursday by unknown persons. Several bullets were fired at the cafe and the marks they left were clear and a window was also shattered, according to Sameer Kaushal, founder of the outlet NewsDerby, who was at the scene of the crime on Thursday morning. Several cruisers of the Surrey Police Service (SPS) lined the street outside the cafe, which is located in a popular destination for outings and lies along the border of the towns of Surrey and Delta in British Columbia. An unverified video of a person firing at the cafe at night also circulated on social media as did unconfirmed posts in which Harjit Singh Laddi and Toofan Singh, who are associated with the proscribed terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International or BKI, allegedly claimed responsibility for the attack. In the posts, in English and Punjabi, they claimed an episode of the popular Kapil Sharma Show featured a character who made some humorous remarks about the dress and behaviour of Nihangs, which hurt their religious sentiments. Neither the veracity of the posts nor the claim could be established at this time. Bullet marks in a window of Kap's Cafe in Surrey, British Columbia, which was fired at by unknown persons in the early hours of Thursday. (Credit: Sameer Kaushal/NewsDerby) BKI is recognised as a terrorist outfit by the Canadian government. The shootings occurred in what is largely a residential locality and in fact, there are apartments in the complex where the cafe is situated. Local police had not made a statement about the incident yet. However, the city and the Lower Mainland region of the province, have seen a wave of businesses that have been targeted by criminal gangs with the objective of extortion. Strangely enough, on July 3, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had announced the arrest of two persons, who were not identified by name, for their involvement in extortion-related violence. A day later they had been released without charges, according to the outlet Global News. On June 11, businessman Satwinder Sharma was shot dead in neighbouring Abbotsford. Meanwhile, Satish Kumar, president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, has experienced his businesses being targeted multiple times this year. Kumar told the outlet Vancouver Sun last month, 'My life is on the line. My family's life is on the line.' In December 2023, the residence where his son and family live in was fired upon. _____
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Controversial interview: X restores a/c of Indo-Canadian journalist
Toronto: The social media handle of a prominent Indo-Canadian journalist Sameer Kaushal was restored 72 hours after the platform X suspended it, following a post featuring an interview with a former pro-Khalistan extremist who alleged that Pakistan's spy agency had multiple agents in Canada and were covertly working with separatists targeting India. Indo-Canadian journalist Sameer Kaushal who had his handle suspended by X. (Supplied photo) Those allegations were voiced by Jaswal Atwal, who was convicted in Canada for the attempted murder of visiting Punjab Minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in Vancouver Island in 1986. He was interviewed by Kaushal, the founder-editor of the digital outlet News Derby. Hours later Kaushal received a notice from X that his personal account, where he had posted the video of the interview, had been suspended for violating its 'rules against authenticity'. 'As an independent journalist, I rely on X as a vital platform for exercising freedom of speech and for delivering factual, daring journalism to the community. There is a possibility that some powerful forces may have targeted my account due to my commitment to reporting the truth,' Kaushal said in a statement. 'This sudden suspension has come as a complete surprise and is deeply concerning, as my account serves as a significant platform for communication, information sharing, and engagement with my community,' he added. The handle was finally restored on Monday. Atwal has been a controversial character who was once a hardcore supporter of Khalistan but turned against separatism and was given visas to travel to India as part of the amnesty launched by the Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. Atwal was famously present at a reception hosted by the Canadian government in Mumbai for then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to India in February 2018, a development which caused Ottawa serious embarrassment. Canada later blamed 'rogue elements' in the Indian government for subverting the visit, without explaining how they managed to plant Atwal at an invite-only event organised by the Canadian government. In its annual report to parliament for 2024, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) noted, 'Pakistan conducts foreign interference against Canada to promote political, security and economic stability in Pakistan and to counter India's growing global influence. Canada is an attractive foreign interference target due to its significant South Asian community and presence of groups who may be utilised as pro- Pakistan or anti-India proxies.' It added per its assessment 'Pakistan will continue to target various levels of government as well as ethnic, cultural and religious communities, specifically in relation to electoral nomination processes. They may also target media.' Testifying before the foreign interference commission in October last year, senior Canadian intelligence official Vanessa Lloyd said Pakistan was 'trying to reduce the influence of India'. She also said while foreign interference usually related to suppression of voices, it 'may also have the opposite effect in terms of amplifying other voices, and in this particular case, influence of Pakistan is directly related to support of Khalistani extremism'.
