POLICE now believe that Ranjeev Sangha, 41, the well-know bhangra promoter who was shot dead on Monday outside his Surrey home, was associated to drug activity.

On November 26 at around 11:46 a.m., Surrey RCMP received reports of shots fired in the 5400-block of 146th Street. Police arrived to find a man with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) requested the public’s help to further its investigation.

There was a pouring out of sympathy from Sangha`s friends who heaped praise on him and said they just could not understand why somebody would harm him.

But all that suddenly changed on Friday when IHIT Cpl. Frank Jang told the media that they had learned from their policing partners outside B.C. that Sangha was “associated to drug activity.”

Jang said that although the motive for his death is still not known, his associations may have played a role in it.

He added: “We make no judgments on what Mr. Sangha did in life,” adding that his past was relevant only regarding any information that would help their current ongoing homicide investigation.

Jang pointed out that some in the community could be surprised by the latest development, while others probably knew about this  and added that police need to speak to “those people that had intimate knowledge of what Mr. Sangha was doing (and) what he was involved in.”

On Tuesday, IHIT told the media that those responsible for killing Sangha immediately left the area in a black four-door sedan.

Approximately one hour later at 12:49 p.m., the Richmond RCMP was alerted to a burning black sedan in the area of the 12000-block of Cambie Road. It was found approximately 100 meters off of Cambie Road on a pedestrian path. Detectives would like to speak with anyone that has information about this vehicle and are seeking dash cam video from drivers who were travelling between Surrey and Richmond along Highway 99 or Highway 91 between 11:46 a.m. and 12:49 p.m.

It is still early in the investigation but investigators believe the murder of Sangha was a targeted incident and are working to determine motive.

IHIT said it is working closely with its partners from the Surrey RCMP, the Richmond RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Services and the B.C. Coroners Service to gather evidence.

“Retracing Ranjeev Sangha’s movements prior to his death will be one of the priorities for our detectives and we urge anyone who can help us achieve this end to contact us immediately,” said Cpl. Frank Jang of IHIT.

Sangha was not involved in the Lower Mainland Gang Conflict and was not known to police, according to Jang.

He told the media: “We’re trying to find out why exactly anyone would want to harm him, why anyone would want to shoot him, and why anyone would want him dead.”

He is the 17th South Asian to be murdered in the Lower Mainland this year – and not a single case has been solved either by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) or Vancouver Police (that is not part of IHIT and under whose jurisdiction three of the murders have occurred).

Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551- IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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