AP Dhillon home attack linked to extortion plot, Goldy Brar admits in BBC documentary

The shooting at singer AP Dhillon’s residence in Canada in 2024 wasn’t random—it was strategic. In the BBC documentary The Killing Call, gangster Goldy Brar, a close aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, confirmed the attack was intended to instil fear and aid their extortion efforts.

Brar admitted in the film, “To feed a family of four, a man has to struggle all his life. We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people. To get money, we have to be feared.”

This attack followed a string of threats issued to public figures after the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, an incident Brar referred to as retaliation for the killing of Vicky Middukhera. According to investigative journalist Ishleen Kaur, who interviewed Brar, “They took Sidhu’s fame and in an instant, transformed it into their own notoriety. That notoriety made it easier for them to extort money.”

The assault on Dhillon’s home happened in September 2024, days after he released a music video featuring Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The Bishnoi gang is known to have an old enmity with Khan, which has resulted in frequent threats. Shortly after the shooting, the gang issued a chilling message to Dhillon, warning him to “stay within his limits” or meet a fate similar to a “dog’s death”. When asked if the incident was aimed at creating dominance over the Punjabi music scene, Brar did not reject the suggestion. He implied the tactic was effective—fear made people respond quicker to their demands.

The gang’s operations have reportedly grown more visible and calculated after Moosewala’s death. What was once a regional threat has now evolved into a well-known network of intimidation, spanning India and parts of the diaspora, using high-profile targets to send wider messages. The documentary’s revelations underline how extortion through fear continues to be a disturbing and evolving tool in the Bishnoi gang’s arsenal—with AP Dhillon’s attack serving as one of its latest examples.