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Rajinder Singh Soomel gunned down

 

NRI Rajinder Singh Soomel was gunned down in the middle of Cambie Street, Vancouver

 

Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Sep. 30, 2009
Lachman Singh

Rajinder Singh Soomel, 35, married and father of a little girl, was gunned down in the middle of Cambie Street about 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Rajinder Soomel and his brother, (Ravinder Singh) Robbie Soomel grew up in South Vancouver, have list of enemies. Robbie was highly involved in the drug trade and member of gangsters as the Independent Soldiers

In 2000, Rajinder's home was targeted by gunmen. He and his friend suffered gunshot wounds in the attack and the police found several shell casings and an AK-47 assault rifle at the scene. No body was charged in the shooting. After few days, Gurpreet Singh Sohi, was gunned down in his Delta basement. Robbie Soomel and Gogi Mann were convicted.

Hardip Singh Uppal implicated Raj's brother Robbie in several murders, including the 1998 assassination of publisher Tara Singh Hayer.

Rajinder Singh Soomel:

  • RCMP had set up a sophisticated fake criminal organization to net Rajinder Soomel to get information about the Tara Singh Hayer murder case and several other gang slayings from the late 90s. He became a full-time employee of the fake crime group, delivering and smuggle tax-free booze and cigarettes to various locations for great profit.
  • During this undercover operation and investigation:
    • He said many times that Uppal was a ‘rat’ who double-crossed his brother and testified against him.
    • In 2007, he told one of the undercover cops that he intended to kill Uppal “down the road
    • “Every dog has his day, right?”
    • “I mean, I just want to see it done, man, and he wanted Uppal gunned down in the street “to send a message.”
    • On Aug. 8, Rajinder said he wanted Uppal killed by making a throat-slitting motion
    • On Aug. 21, 2007, he agreed to pay $20,000 to under cover agent to kill Uppal. After one week, he provided a photo of Uppal’s girlfriend and Uppal’s parents’ address and their names.
    • The second time, he said that he wanted Hardip Uppal killed on the street and made a machine gun shooting gesture with his hands and a gun-shooting noise to send a message.
    • He told undercover agents that he wanted to kill the "rat" who got his brother convicted.

In March 2008, Rajinder Soomel apologized for plotting to kill Hardip Singh Uppal. The Judge Peder Gulbransen gave him four years in jail with one-year credit for time served. On July 28, 2009, he was eligible for day parole.

Hardip Singh Uppal:

  • Hardip Singh Uppal became a Crown witness in Robbie’s trial for the murder of Gurpreet Singh Sohi, who was killed in September 2000.
  • Hardip Singh Uppal said, Robbie Soomel admitted that he and Daljit Singh (Umboo) Basran were promised $50,000 by the Babbar Khalsa terrorist group to kill Tara Singh Hayer.
  • Tara Singh Hayer, 62, publisher of Indo-Canadian Times was gunned down on Nov. 18, 1998. He was a prime witness in the Air India bombing case

Robbie Soomel, Rajinder's younger brother

  • In 2004, Robbie Soomel was convicted in a gang style slaying.
  • He is serving a life sentence for Sohi’s murder. He was already serving time when he was charged with murdering Jason Herle in a 1997
  • During his murder trial, Robbie was implicated by a co-accused in the assassination of Hayer, even though he has never been charged.
  • Robbie was member of gangsters, called Independent Soldiers
  • He was involved in the drug trade all the time