Punjab Police To Seek Extradition Of Accused Snover Dhillon To Face Murder Charges!

An Indo-Canadian man identified by Indian police as the man behind the killing of Kabaddi star Sandeep Nangal Ambia in Punjab is a controversial former Conservative who was a $22,000 gun for hire to win Conservative party nominations in Ontario and a convicted fraudster. Snover Dhillon is accused of wanting to eliminate Nangal Ambia because of competition for players between the Kabaddi leagues they both ran. Dhillon , a native of Amritsar and currently residing in Brampton, is a producer and director at Canadian Sath TV and Radio Show. His co-accused are Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha Duneke alias Sukh Singh, a native of village Duneke, Moga and residing in Canada for last few years and Jagjit Singh alias Gandhi, a native of Dehlon, Ludhiana, and currently residing in Malaysia.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada With News Files

TORONTO – An Indo-Canadian man identified by Indian police as the man behind the killing of Kabaddi star Sandeep Nangal Ambia in Punjab is a controversial former Conservative who was a $22,000 gun for hire to win Conservative party nominations in Ontario and a convicted fraudster.

Snover Dhillon is accused of wanting to eliminate Nangal Ambia because of competition for players between the Kabaddi leagues they both ran. Dhillon , a native of Amritsar and currently residing in Brampton, is a producer and director at Canadian Sath TV and Radio Show. His co-accused are Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha Duneke alias Sukh Singh, a native of village Duneke, Moga and residing in Canada for last few years and Jagjit Singh alias Gandhi, a native of Dehlon, Ludhiana, and currently residing in Malaysia.

Dhillon, who is already convicted of fraud for unrelated matters, was accused in the run-up to the last provincial election of crossing ethical lines in his work helping would-be Conservative candidates win nominations, reported National Post newspaper.

Dhillon is now accused by police in India accuse of ordering the murder of the prominent player in the ancient and popular Indian sport of Kabaddi. 

According to still unproven allegations filed by Punjab Police, Dhillon wanted to eliminate Nangal Ambia because of competition for players between the Kabaddi leagues they ran. 

Those arrested in Punjab have been identified as Fateh Singh alias Yuvraj, a resident of Sangrur; Kaushal Chaudhary of Naharpur Roopa in Gurugram; Amit Dagar of village Maheshpur Palvan in Haryana; Simranjeet Singh alias Jujhar Singh alias gangster of village Madhopur Pilibhit, UP.

All the four accused, who have a long history of crime and are facing over 20 criminal cases mostly of murder and attempt to murder, were brought on production warrant from different jails. It is not known how they know Dhillon and the other co-conspirators in the Nangal Ambia’s murder.

A Punjab Police spokesman told the National Post the force will seek extradition of the Brampton, Ont, resident.

“He is one of the main conspirators and played a major role in this crime,” alleged Senior Supt. Satinder Singh in a brief interview by phone and text. “Process for his extradition will be done as per law.”

Singh declined to comment further, including on whether Punjab Police had been in contact with law enforcement in Canada. The investigation is still active, he said.

Dhillon, who quit the Conservative party shortly before Ontario’s 2018 election, did not respond by deadline to several requests for comment by the National Post.

Police say Sandeep was shot dead by a group of five assailants on March 14, stunning supporters of the unique sport, which combines elements of wrestling and rugby.

Indian MP Chaudhary Santokh told a memorial service that “whoever has murdered him has killed kabaddi,” according to India’s Tribune newspaper.

“He worked his way up to become the legend, the ‘gladiator of kabaddi,’” Jazzy B, a popular Indo-Canadian singer, told the BBC’s Asian Network. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

Dhillon is listed as one of four directors of the National Kabaddi Federation of Ontario, a non-profit that was incorporated just this January, according to federal records. Police allege he was trying to lure top players. But most were associated with Major League Kabaddi, which was managed by Sandeep, “rendering Snover’s federation unsuccessful,” charged a news release issued by the force, reported National Post.

One of the arrested men told police that Dhillon had instructed him and others in India to arrange shooters to carry out Sandeep’s “execution,” the release alleged. None of the accusations has been proven in court. The actual trigger men have yet to be caught, the document said.

As well as being popular in India itself, Kabaddi has a significant following among the diaspora in other countries. Players come to Canada, for instance, during the summer months to play when it is too hot in India itself, said Gurlat Sahota, president of the Kabaddi Federation of Ontario, a well-established and respected group that is separate from Dhillon’s federation.

The sport has had its controversies before, such as spates of players coming to Canada on short-term visas and never returning. Some players and league organizers have been accused of narcotics trafficking.

“Sandeep was killed because he wanted to clean the game,” Hakam Singh, the Major League Kabaddi Federation chairman, told India’s The Tribune. He said that Sandeep would be kept on as president of the group posthumously.

Dhillon’s name rose to prominence in 2018 over much different issues. At the time he was hiring himself out to people who wanted to win Conservative nominations, helping them gather the supporters needed to win in a one-member, one-vote system. Leaked emails suggest that one would-be candidate paid him $22,000 for the service. He was accused of unethical methods, such as paying for memberships and bringing in members from other ridings to vote for his clients, but Dhillon denied any such wrongdoing and suggested he was the victim of racism because of his Sikh origins.

He also admitted to receiving a list of customers of Ontario’s 407 toll highway that the company reported had been taken in an internal theft, but said he was not aware of the list’s origins.

Dhillon had a longstanding relationship at the time with Patrick Brown, who resigned as Ontario Conservative leader in 2018 and later became mayor of Brampton. Brown is now vying for the federal party leadership.

A spokesman for the mayor said Tuesday that Brown has had no contact with Dhillon for years and that Dhillon actually protested against him recently outside Brampton city hall.

In 2011, Dhillon was convicted of two separate fraud offences. In one case he posed as a credit counsellor and took $10,000 from clients’ bank accounts; in another he passed himself off as a real-estate broker and absconded with $14,000. He was also fined by regulators for acting as a real-estate and mortgage broker without the requisite licence, reported National Post.

With News Files Courtesy National Post