Police arrest 2 men in alleged Pickering murder plot hours after Scarborough pub mass shooting

One day after a mass shooting took place inside a pub in Scarborough, Toronto police arrested and charged two men who were allegedly plotting a murder in Pickering.

In court documents obtained by CityNews, Gokilan Balamurale and Brannan Skanda Balasegar, both 25 of Markham and North York, were arrested on March 8, and each was charged with one count of conspiring to commit first-degree murder at an undisclosed location in Pickering.

Though not verified in the court documents, according to the Toronto Star, the location of the alleged murder plot was Pickering’s Mansion Kitchen and Bar in the Kingston Road and Liverpool Road area.

Both accused are scheduled to appear in court again on Friday morning.

Police arrested Balamurale and Balasegar hours after a mass shooting at the Piper Arms, a pub in Scarborough, on Friday night. Authorities have said that three suspects “indiscriminately” opened fire as diners celebrated the pub’s opening night, then fled in a silver car.

Police say seven people were hit by gunfire, while the others were injured by flying glass. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

The motive for the Scarborough shooting has yet to be determined, but investigators have said that one of the men was armed with an assault rifle while the other two had handguns.

A police spokesperson refused to link Balamurale and Balasegar to the Scarborough mass shooting, only suggesting that authorities are looking into all leads and that the investigation is ongoing.

“All we can confirm is that two people have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder,” police said in an email to CityNews. “We do not know the circumstances around those arrests. They have not been arrested for the shooting on Friday, and I can’t speak to any connection with that investigation.”

There has been no suspect description to date.

One of the accused has ties to the tow truck industry

Balamurale is listed at an address minutes away from where a homicide occurred at a residence in Markham early on Friday morning, which neighbours believe is connected to a growing tow-truck turf war.

According to documents obtained by CityNews, Balamurale is listed as a tow truck applicant on a Toronto licencing record from 2023. The tribunal dismissed Balamurale’s application because he failed to attend a hearing.

A man and a woman were shot at the home on Solace Road near Castlemore Avenue and transported to a hospital, where the woman was later pronounced dead. The victim was identified as 20-year-old Nilakshi Raguthas of Markham.

A 26-year-old man is recovering from serious non-life-threatening injuries. A German Shepherd was also shot at the home and killed.