‘They’re animals’: Caledon family fears they are victims of alleged extortion scheme

A Caledon family says they have been subjected to death threats, including against their children, after their business and home were shot up in what they claim are acts of extortion.

Ranbir Mand says he was awoken by the sounds of gunshots on Thursday morning, leaving his family shaken and searching for answers.

“I had no clue what to do. I was scared, my kids were scared, it happened at 5:30 in the morning,” Mand says, adding that the incident comes after the family restaurant was targeted in a separate shooting a few weeks ago.

“Three months ago, they were demanding $2 million ransom. We told them, come take a look at our place, we barely have enough money to spare, and we barely have enough money to pay our mortgages and the bills.”

Mand believes the suspects are part of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Lawrence Bishnoi has been in an Indian prison since 2015 and has more than two dozen criminal cases pending against him. He has been accused of orchestrating violent acts of extortion while incarcerated, using a cellphone.

The National Investigation Agency, India’s counterterrorism agency, said in 2023 that Bishnoi ran his “terror group from jails in different states” in India and through an associate in Canada

Last year, the RCMP accused India of using the Bishnoi gang to carry out murders and acts of extortion targeting Canadians, particularly those who advocate for the creation of a separate Sikh country to be called Khalistan.

In September, Canada listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity.

Mand showed our colleagues at OMNI News WhatsApp numbers from England and Italy that they are using to intimidate and threaten him.

The Caledon OPP confirmed to CityNews that they are investigating recent extortion cases, many of which involve phone calls or text messages from a WhatsApp number. However, they did not confirm or deny whether this particular incident falls into that category. The messages all threaten violence unless a large sum of money is paid, with the suspects having knowledge of the individual’s home and places of work.

“I think it is 100 per cent extortion,” said Mand.  

For Mand, who immigrated to Canada nearly 30 years ago and opened his restaurant and a construction company, he says his hope is for an end to the violence so that others won’t be targeted like him in the future.

“Those who shoot at my family …they have no rights. They’re not even human anymore, they’re animals.”

Mand says while he has set up security cameras throughout the home, he worries this could happen again. 

Provincial police are asking anyone who may have information to contact them.

OMNI News contributed to this article