Reported just hours apart, two separate shootings targeted an Indian restaurant and a Punjabi businessman in Canada this week.

The former case involved an overnight shooting at a business called Bhojan Sweets and Restaurant in the Newton neighbourhood, Surrey, on Wednesday, January 14. On the other hand, the latter fatal incident resulted in the discovery of a prominent businessman in the street in the same city just after Tuesday noon. As a result, both shootings happened in within the 24-hour window.

Here’s what happened.

Punjabi businessman shot dead in Surrey, Canada

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) in Canada has since identified the victim of Tuesday’s fatal shooting in Surrey, British Columbia. As reported by leading Canadian news outlets like CBC and Vancouver Sun, the man found shot to death was 46-year-old Baljinder ‘Binder’ Singh Garcha, a renowned businessman in the area.

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Surrey law enforcement officials found his body at around noon, as reports of a man lying in the 3500 block of 176 Street were relayed to the authorities. The incident is said to have taken place near Morgan Creek Meadows outdoor wedding venue that the Punjabi businessman operated.

As per CBC’s report, investigators believe that a vehicle fire the police responded to about 5 kms away about an hour before is possibly connected Garcha’s killing.

The deceased businessman owned several Surrey-based businesses, including an indoor banquet venue, limo service and film company.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Garcha owned Studio 12 Movies and Photography and Studio-12 Limousine. He was also the co-owner of Empress Palace Ballroom in the Payal Business Centre, a South Asian business hub.

Studio 12’s Vimeo profile indicates that the Punjabi businessman founded the company in 2005. During its initial stages, the small organisation was operated out of his home. Two decades down the line, the company is filming more than 200 weddings a year, as per the profile.

Indian-origin restaurant shot at in Surrey, Canada

Hours later, Surrey Police Service (SPS) responded to reports of a different shooting incident in the 8000-block of King George Boulevard. At approximately 2:10 am on Wednesday (local time), authorities discovered that Bhojan Sweets and Restaurant was targeted.

As per CTV News, bullet holes were spotted in the windows of the restaurant. Surrey police Sgt Tige Pollock told reporters outside the eatery that nobody was present inside the restaurant or injured at the time of the harrowing development.

Pollock also established that the business had even received threats prior to the Wednesday shooting.

What fuelled the attacks on the Indian-origin businessman, restaurant in Surrey?

Although the investigation surrounding the fatal shooting of Baljinder Singh Garcha is still in its early stages, Sukhi Dhesi, media relations officer for IHIT, said in a news release that officials did not believe a gang conflict may have fuelled the attack.

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“Based on initial investigative steps, investigators do not believe there is a connection to the B.C. gang conflict and are working diligently to understand the circumstances that led to the death of Mr. Garcha. We are asking anyone with information to please come forward and speak with investigators,” the official stated.

As per the latest official release, authorities seem to be turning away from the ongoing gang war connections in this case despite the deaths of two men with affiliations to such groups in Surrey and Abbotsford this past week, as per CBC.

The hostile developments have come to light as Surrey continues to be at the centre of extortion-focussed violence. Last year, the city in British Columbia witnessed a total of 132 extortion attempts. Of these, 49 involved shootings, as per CBC.

The surge in such cases has primarily made South Asian business owners its targets, forcing the community to believe that the worst is far from over. Merely days into the new year, 2026 has already seen 16 reported extortion attempts in the city, as per the Surrey Police Service’s revelations. These instances include the aforementioned overnight shooting at the India-linked restaurant on King George Boulevard.

As of now, it remains unclear if Garcha’s death was fuelled by extortion-motivated violence.

In a similar update, officials are still trying their best to determine the motive behind the attack, but they believe the shooting to be extortion related.