Indian-origin gangster shot dead in Toronto was a die-hard Raptors fan

34-year-old Sukhbir Singh Deo was a Canadian gangster of Indian descent. At around 3 pm last Tuesday, he was gunned down in broad daylight near a busy intersection in midtown Toronto. The police reported at least 14 bullet holes in the side window of his Range Rover.

Hours after news of his vicious homicide broke, an earlier video of Sukhbir started doing the rounds and soon went viral. On 23 May, the ardent Toronto Raptors fan had been picked up by the cameras during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Raptors.

Many recognised him from the game, which had to be stopped for his heckling of the referees. Sukhbir was evicted from his courtside seat at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre with 6:40 minutes left on the clock in that game.

A hardcore NBA fan, Sukhbir had arrived at Toronto from Vancouver where he was a prominent figure among the law enforcement. His record includes assault conviction, cocaine smuggling besides his alleged ties with a local gang named Independent Soldiers, which is believed to be involved in his death.

His father, Parminder Singh Deo, himself, is wanted by Interpol for narcotics charges and criminal conspiracy whereas his brother Harjit had been convicted in 2005 for a gangland kidnapping in New Westminster, B.C.

As it turned out, the Raptors went on to record the biggest win in the history of their franchise against LeBron James’ side that day.

Sukhbir’s Range Rover with the bullet holes on its window [Image: vancouversun.com]

The Twitterati started voicing their opinions on the cold-blooded killing, official fan handles and NBA news networks joined in as well. Although it is immensely unlikely, some even went on to express their doubts regarding whether the two incidents involving the late Sukhbir could have been somehow related.

#Raptors fan kicked out of game for heckling ref found killed https://t.co/Al8aXAGupg #RTZ #GoRaptors pic.twitter.com/ZG6BnUBNfD

— Zesty Raptors News (@zesty_raptors) June 8, 2016

#RaptorNation Former BC gangster killed in Toronto hit: Sukh Deo was an avid fan of the Tor... https://t.co/vEoS0YmatR #raptors #toronto

— NBA Sneakers (@NBA_Sneakers) June 8, 2016