Latest news with #NihangSikh
News18
11-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Kapil Sharma Café Attack In Canada Part Of Larger ISI-Backed Khalistani Conspiracy: Sources
According to top Indian intelligence sources, the attack was not an isolated act of vandalism, but a carefully orchestrated operation with roots in Surrey, Canada. The recent firing at comedian Kapil Sharma's café in Punjab has raised red flags across Indian and international intelligence agencies, who believe the incident is part of a broader, ISI-backed Khalistani conspiracy aimed at intimidating Indian voices abroad. According to top Indian intelligence sources, the attack was not an isolated act of vandalism, but a carefully orchestrated operation with roots in Surrey, Canada — now regarded as a key operational hub for Khalistani terror and ideological activity. Harjit Singh Laddi, a designated terrorist and member of the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, stating it was in response to alleged insults to the Nihang Sikh community. Laddi, wanted by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the April 2024 assassination of Hindu leader Vikas Prabhakar, is currently believed to be hiding in DHA, Pakistan, and is known to be closely associated with Wadhawa Singh, a senior BKI figure, as per Indian intelligence inputs. Sources indicate that the assault on Kapil Sharma's café — which also damaged nearby residential buildings — was symbolic, meant to instill fear among the Indo-Canadian community and global Indian diaspora. It highlights how Khalistani groups, with direct logistical and financial backing from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), are targeting high-profile Indian celebrities, businessmen, and temples abroad to amplify their propaganda. India has repeatedly flagged Canada's inaction on dossiers naming Khalistani terrorists like Laddi, which intelligence officials say has emboldened such actors. ISI's role, according to top sources, is pivotal — not only in funding and arming these networks but also in fueling diaspora grievances to destabilise Indian interests globally. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kap's Cafe shooting incident: Security tightened at Kapil Sharma's Mumbai residence—details inside
Picture Credit: Instagram Security has been boosted at popular comedian and actor Kapil Sharma 's place in Oshiwara, Mumbai, after his recently launched cafe in Canada was targeted. The incident happened on Thursday and has raised serious alarm, which has led the Mumbai Police to boost security in the surrounding areas of the comedian's home. Kapil is yet to resume shooting According to a report by IANS, police were seen stationed around Kapil's residence on Friday, closely monitoring the area, but he has not confirmed if he would go ahead with his scheduled shoot for Netflix's 'The Great Indian Kapil Show' at Filmcity. Gunfire at Kap's Cafe in Canada The attack targeted Kap's Cafe in Surrey, British Columbia—Kapil Sharma's new hospitality venture. As per local Canadian authorities, around 2:00 am (local time), a shooter fired nine bullets at the premises. Fortunately, no one was injured in the assault. Harjit Singh, allegedly from the banned terrorist group Babbar Khalsa, claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying he was acting to 'take revenge for the remarks made on the Kapil comedy show that insulted the Nihang Sikh community and their attire. Kapil's recent films Speaking of his recent films, Kapil Sharma made a special appearance in the 2024 film 'Crew' and recently starred in Zwigato (2023), which shows him in a different and more serious role. Kapil Sharma will also be seen in 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2,' which is expected to be the sequel of his 2015 rom-com film 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon.' He is also involved in a new film, 'Dadi Ki Shadi,' alongside actress Sadia Khateeb and debutante Riddhima Kapoor, which is shot in Shimla and expected to release in the second half of 2025.
NDTV
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Terrorist Says Targeted Kapil Sharma's Cafe As His Show Mocked Nihang Sikhs
A participant at Kapil Sharma's show had made some "humorous" remarks on the traditional dress and conduct of Nihang Sikhs that had hurt the sentiments of the community, said Harjit Singh Laddi, who is associated with proscribed terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and claimed responsibility for the firing at the actor-comedian's restaurant in Canada earlier this week. In a social media post, Laddi said he and Toofan Singh - also linked to BKI - were behind the firing at Kap's Cafe in Surrey, British Columbia, on Wednesday night. BKI is recognised as a terrorist outfit by the Canadian government. Laddi is on the National Investigation Agency's most-wanted list. "A character was seen wearing the Nihang Sikh attire and some humorous remarks were made on their conduct. These were considered to be offensive and hurt the religious sentiments of the community. No religion or spiritual identity can be mocked under the guise of comedy," the Khalistani terrorist said. He said the community made several calls to Mr Sharma's manager but did not receive any response. "Why didn't Kapil Sharma publicly apologise anytime soon," he said. Nihang Sikhs are a distinctive and traditionalist martial order within Sikhism, known for their distinctive blue attire, traditional weapons and adherence to traditional Sikh martial practices. On Wednesday, shots were fired at comedian Mr Sharma's Kap's Cafe that opened on July 4. No one was injured in the incident. "On Thursday, July 10, at 1:50 am, Surrey Police Service was called to a business located in the 8400 block of 120 Street for a report of shots fired," the Surrey Police Service (SPS) said. "Upon police arrival, it was quickly determined that the shots were fired towards the business, damaging the property, while staff members were still present inside," it added. In an Instagram post on Friday, the cafe said they were " processing the shock" but stand firm against violence. "We opened Kap's Cafe with hopes of bringing warmth, community, and joy through delicious coffee and friendly conversation. To have violence intersect with that dream is heartbreaking. We are processing this shock but we are not giving up," the cafe said in its statement. "Thank you for Your Support Your kind words, prayers, and memories shared via DM mean more than you know. This cafe exists because of your belief in what we're building together. Let's stand firm against violence and ensure Kap's Cafe remains a place of warmth and community." The cafe ended the note with a "thank you and see you soon under better skies". Mr Sharma is yet to respond to the incident.
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Mohali hot pursuit: Nihang, his wife held after sword attack on cops
Jun 30, 2025 08:16 AM IST A constable was severely injured after a Nihang Sikh and his wife attacked a police team that was chasing them near Nijjer Chowk in Mohali on Saturday. The accused tried to flee on a motorcycle but were intercepted at Nijjer Chowk. (HT Photo) As per information, the Nihang, identified as Amandeep Singh, and his wife were being tracked in connection with a ₹ 55,000 robbery that took place earlier near Damtal in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. After surveillance footage showed the duo entering Mohali, a police team got into hot pursuit. The accused tried to flee on a motorcycle but were intercepted at Nijjer Chowk. Following this, the woman pulled out a sword and her husband opened an attack on the cops. A constable received a deep cut on his arm in the attack, and had to be later administered stitches. The chaos led to a brief traffic halt on the stretch. Police have registered a case under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant) and 221 (voluntarily hindering or impeding a public servant who is lawfully carrying out their duties) against the Nihang and his wife at the Kharar police station. They have been taken into custody and are also being questioned in the robbery case that occurred near the Pathankot-Himachal border.
India Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
YouTuber Kamal Kaur's murder, morality and silence: Is Punjab drifting backwards?
Amritsar-based social media influencer Deepika Luthra recently deleted her Instagram account after receiving life threats from radical elements, who had been objecting to her content. This was despite the police providing her days ago, on June 11, Kamal Kaur, a Punjabi YouTuber known to her fans as 'Kamal Bhabhi', was found murdered—strangled and dumped in a canal near Bathinda in Punjab. The killing, carried out allegedly by a Nihang Sikh named Amritpal Singh Mehron and his accomplices, sent shockwaves across the state's online community over a broad pattern of intimidation of social media personalities in followed Kamal Kaur's murder was even more chilling. Giani Malkeet Singh, the head granthi of the Akal Takht—the highest temporal seat of Sikhism—came out to purportedly justify the crime. 'As per Sikh religious teachings,' he said, 'nobody, including Hindus and Muslims, should listen to obscene songs, especially the young Sikh generation.' He blamed Kamal Kaur for corrupting minds, as if hinting that her killing was, in a sense, an act of religious the state police are cracking down on some 100 social media accounts that justified such endorsements even as minister Aman Arora, who is also the Punjab chief of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has urged citizens not to panic. This is not the first time an act of extrajudicial violence in Punjab has found implicit—or even explicit—support from the Sikh clergy. In 2021, a Dalit man was lynched at the Golden Temple premises after being accused of sacrilege. His murder was caught on camera, yet no one from the Sikh institutions or political leadership condemned it 2023, Sudhir Suri, a Hindu outfit leader, was gunned down in Amritsar. The alleged assailant, Sandeep Singh, was valorised on social media by fringe elements as a defender of the faith. He was showered with flower petals by Sikh groups. Again, silence—or at best mealy-mouthed justification—followed from the religious this year, the Amritsar Pride Parade, scheduled for April 27, was cancelled due to strong opposition from Sikh organisations and concerns about religious sanctity. Paramajit Singh Akali, a Nihang Sikh, led the objection, and the clergy supported the protests. The parade has been organised since 2019 as a connecting platform for the LGBTQIA+ community in the the Kamal Kaur case, there's now evidence that the accused, Mehron, had fled to Dubai. Some of his accomplices have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. But what about the broader message? When a religious authority cloaks a murder with moral legitimacy, it is not just justice that is delayed but society that is spiral of intimidation and vigilante justice is not confined to one incident. Last year, a Nihang Sikh publicly harassed and threatened the popular social media couple behind the 'Kulhad Pizza' brand. In October 2024, Nihang Sikhs, led by Baba Maan Singh, had threatened these Jalandhar-based social media influencers, Sehaj Arora and Gurpreet Kaur, accusing them of posting 'lecherous' videos that offended religious Nihangs reportedly demanded that Sehaj either remove his turban or take down the content. The coupled had approached the Akal Takht. Despite sustained intimidation and growing unrest in the community, the Punjab police remained passive. It was only after the couple moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they were granted legal then, the law enforcement agencies chose silence over action. The harassment escalated to such a level that they were forced to leave Punjab and seek safety elsewhere. The police response was tepid, at best. An FIR was filed, but the narrative—that religious orthodoxy allows for moral policing—remained and liberal voices in Punjab have started raising red flags. 'Are we now deciding morality with swords?' asks one activist. 'Where is the line between personal freedom and public violence?'Some critics highlight the dangerous absence of institutional guardrails. Thespian Pali Bhupinder Singh argues: 'Kanchan Kumari made low-quality videos, but there was clearly an audience for them. And while her murder can never be justified, the debate that followed has not been a debate at all—it has become a contest of entrenched opinions, motivated by hate, outrage or ideological agendas.'advertisementThe silence of the Sikh institutions is not seen as accidental. These recurring episodes recall Punjab's darkest era of the 1980s, when militancy rose not just from separatist demands but a deeply intolerant climate that branded poets, artists and reformers as enemies of the Avtar Singh Pash, known for his radical humanism, was gunned down in 1988. Actor Varinder Deol and singer Amar Singh Chamkila, whose lyrics celebrated life in all its rough-edged reality, were murdered by extremists. Their crime? Dissent. Expression. the then Akal Takht jathedar, Bhai Ranjit Singh, was convicted in the assassination of Baba Gurbachan Singh, head of the Nirankari sect, in 1980. That killing catalysed a wave of sectarian violence in Punjab. Yet Ranjit Singh is not perceived as a villain in the decades on, Punjab's wounds have not healed; they've only been papered over. And now, dangerously, the old script is reappearing. Several people in the Sikh clergy are actively pushing the community toward radical agendas, squeezing the space for moderate Sikhs and liberal voices. The glorification of Khalistan militants, the erasure or underplaying of the role of those who opposed them, and the selective invocation of Sikh pride all point to a deeper of this is happening in vacuum. It is enabled, even accelerated, by the dwindling credibility of Sikh institutions—both religious and political—that once held moral authority, but now appear either complicit or makes the situation more alarming is the failure of institutions—religious, political and administrative—to draw the line. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), politicians and Sikh religious leaders have all failed to issue a full-throated condemnation of such acts. Even in cases like Kamal Kaur's murder, where the perpetrator is named and the act itself horrific, the narrative is being twisted into one of moral is a slippery slope. What begins as cultural regulation quickly morphs into legitimised violence. The state's complicity—through inaction—only emboldens the self-appointed guardians of a land of poets and reformers, deserves better. The promise of freedom, of faith without fear, cannot be sacrificed at the altar of orthodoxy. When the clergy justifies killing and institutions look the other way, it is not just the victim who suffers but the soul of Punjab to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
