‘We are still scared’: Punjabi radio host describes toll of brutal Brampton driveway attack

Punjabi radio host Joti Singh Mann spends most of his waking hours staring at a surveillance screen, suspicious of every strange person or car that passes his Brampton home.

He has every right to be fearful.

Mann, who is also a real estate agent, was viciously attacked by three people who hacked at him with axes and a machete last August as he headed to work.

He lost his big toe in the attack and suffered gruesome hand injuries that doctors say could lead to lifelong disability.

“I can’t walk. I can’t sit. I feel more pain every day,” he explained.

The psychological toll has also been immense.

“I sleep only three hours and have nightmares,” he told OMNI News on Friday.

“When I’m not asleep, I (stare at) the (security) camera. Who’s outside? Who’s that car? My mind goes there.”

Three suspects remain at large in the attack, which was captured by a home surveillance camera. Peel Regional Police say they believe Mann was targeted, but no motive has been revealed.

Two days before he was attacked, Mann says he received a threatening phone call which he reported to the police.

The radio host balked at the suggestion that the attack was a hate crime or motivated by religion.

“I respect all religion,” he insisted. “So I never said any bad thing to any religion. I respect all religions.

“Maybe the jealousy factor,” he wondered out loud. “If you are a success, some people don’t like it.

“God knows why this happened. I don’t know.”

Third Punjabi media personality to be targeted: Police

In an update last month, Peel police investigators revealed that the attack on Mann is the third incident where a Punjabi media personality has been targeted.

All of the cases remain open, and Peel Supt. Sean Gormley said there’s no indication they are connected at this point.

“It’s very disturbing,” he said. “Whatever the motive, this is a completely egregious attack.”

In September 2021, shots were fired at well-known Punjabi media personality Joginder Bassi’s home in Brampton. No injuries were reported.

In February 2022, Brampton-based radio host and realtor Deepak Punj was attacked by three unidentified men inside his studio.

The suspects reportedly tried to smash an empty beer bottle over his head. He suffered minor injuries.

“I really want to thank my mother; she saved me”

The video of the attack shows Mann on the morning of Thursday, August 4, getting into a white Jeep and closing the door. Seconds later, a person dressed in black wearing a surgical mask shatters his driver’s seat window with an axe.

He desperately tries to fend off the attacker with kicks, but two more suspects, also wearing black with concealed faces, soon join the fray pulling him out of the vehicle by his leg.

They start mercilessly hacking at him with axes and a machete.

The onslaught only ends when Mann’s mother runs out and intervenes, throwing a shoe at the suspects. It was a bold act that Mann believes saved his life.

His mother has since been rewarded with a medal for bravery from the City of Brampton.

“I really want to thank my mother, she saved me,” he said.

Mann says police have not divulged any new information about his case.

He tries to remain positive for his children.

“Every day when they (his children) come to me, I see their faces, and they can’t play outside. They say, ‘Dad, why did this happen to you? I say, ‘we pray, be strong.’ I give them positivity.”

Mann says police are doing a good job, patrolling the area around his home at night, but it’s not enough to give him peace of mind.

“We are still scared.”