Hundreds of Calgarians gathered at Nelson Mandela High School on Sunday, voicing their concerns about a perceived rise in drug trafficking and gang violence in the Indo-Canadian community.
Since April, four men from that community have been killed in three different attacks.
In April, 25-year-old Jasdeep Singh and 22-year-old Japneet Malhi were shot and killed outside a restaurant in the northwest community of Balmoral.
Bikramjit Dhindsa, 49, was found dead in his Hamptons home on Sunday, May 12.
Two days later, 23-year-old Rishabh Saini was killed in Taradale. He was found suffering from a gunshot wound in a car that had crashed into a parked vehicle.
Calgary police say the victims all appear to be targeted, and officers have been looking into possible connections between the homicides.
“These are three homicides that have occurred within the Indo-Canadian community here in Calgary,” Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm said. “We would be remiss if we weren’t looking at the possibility that they were linked.”
Harcharan Parhar with Sikh Versa International said the Punjabi community is concerned about the latest string of attacks.
“There are so many shootings and there’s a gang war,” said Parhar. “There is fear in the community.”
He said parents in Calgary’s northeast are worried that their kids are getting exposed to gang activity at an early age.
Parhar added that he thinks not enough is being done from a police perspective.
Community leaders are also waiting for arrests to be made in connection to the four homicides, saying they feel there has been a lack of communication between the community and authorities.
“We feel there are so many deaths happening and police never arrest any persons,” said Parhar. “Maybe they’re doing something behind the scenes but we are not seeing results.”
Sunday’s march ended at the Saddletowne police station, where a memorandum was handed to a member of the Calgary police.
The message: more needs to be done to stop teens from getting involved in drugs and gangs.
Parhar said his community will continue to do their own community outreach programs, working to educate students about the dangers of gang life.
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