December 20, 1998. Vancouver’s Palladium Nightclub was packed. It was the kind of place where flashing lights bounced off designer jackets and expensive watches, a spot frequented by both the city’s elite and the underworld figures who wanted to be them.
Among the crowd that night was Bindy Johal, the city’s most infamous gangster. Charismatic, reckless, and untouchable—until he wasn’t.
The Assassination: A Public Execution
The Night Bindy Johal Was Killed
It happened at 4:30 a.m. on December 20, 1998. Bhupinder "Bindy" Singh Johal, dressed in designer clothes, had arrived at Palladium Nightclub, one of Vancouver’s most exclusive spots.
The nightclub was packed. Only a few years earlier, Johal had founded The Punjabi Mafia—a flashy name for a small-time gang that did the dirty work for bigger players like the Hells Angels and the Triads. But Johal wasn’t a small-time gangster anymore. He was the most infamous figure in Vancouver’s underworld.
Sometime after midnight, Johal was inside the club with his crew when a single bullet tore through the back of his head.
It was quick, clinical. A professional execution.
Despite the 365-person crowd, no one saw anything. No one admitted to hearing the shot.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
Outside, the flashing lights of Vancouver’s nightlife were soon replaced by the flashing sirens of emergency vehicles. The paramedics rushed Johal to Vancouver General Hospital, but the effort was pointless.
At 27 years old, the man who had once ruled the city’s criminal underworld was pronounced dead.
Above: Funeral procession of Bindy Johal
The Funeral: A Gangster’s Farewell
Johal’s funeral was held at a Sikh temple in Metro Vancouver followed by a crematorium in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.
The atmosphere was tense. It wasn’t just family members mourning—his funeral was also a gathering of gangsters, informants, and law enforcement.
Security and Police Presence
Plainclothes officers blended into the crowd, watching for potential conflicts.
Surveillance cameras recorded the procession.
Police snipers were positioned on nearby rooftops in case of violence.
The authorities weren’t just there to observe—they were watching to see who would take Johal’s place.
Who Attended?
Family members in mourning, struggling to reconcile the life Johal had led.
Former gang associates, some of whom were now rivals.
Curious onlookers and the media, drawn by the spectacle of Vancouver’s most infamous gangster being laid to rest.
The Power Vacuum and the Bloodshed That Followed
Johal’s death didn’t bring peace. It brought more violence.
His crew splintered into smaller factions, each fighting to claim his empire.
More shootings followed, with some of Johal’s former allies being assassinated within months.
Police cracked down hard, leading to arrests that dismantled much of Johal’s network.
One of his closest associates, Bal Buttar, later admitted that without Johal, the gang fell apart.
"It was chaos. Everyone wanted to be the next Bindy Johal, but none of them lasted long."
Who Killed Him? Theories and Suspects
To this day, his murder remains unsolved, but there are several leading theories:
Above: Bal Buttar
The Bal Buttar Confession
In 2004, Johal’s former lieutenant, Bal Buttar, confessed to ordering the hit. Buttar, who had become a blind quadriplegic following a retaliatory shooting, claimed that Johal's increasingly erratic behavior and tendency to eliminate his own associates left him with no choice but to act preemptively. This confession, however, did not lead to any legal proceedings, as Buttar's incapacitated state rendered a trial unfeasible.
Buttar was due to go to trial in B.C. but instead, a deal has been reached for Buttar to plead guilty. But instead, the court heard how his fragile health and physical state meant he could not travel to court from the Kelowna care facility.
Buttar, by then blind and paralyzed from a failed hit on his own life, told the Vancouver Sun: "I got Bindy killed before he could kill me."
Revenge from the Dosanjh Brothers’ Associates
Johal was a prime suspect in the murders of gangster brothers Ron and Jimmy Dosanjh. Jimmy was killed in February 1994, while Ron was murdered either in April 1994 or on April 19, 1995. Prosecutors alleged that Johal believed Jimmy had placed a C$230,000 contract on his life.
Some believe loyalists of the Dosanjh brothers finally took their revenge.
Due to extensive security measures, the trial became one of the most expensive in Canadian history. Johal’s former brother-in-law, Peter Gill, was also among the accused. In the end, both Johal and Gill—along with the other defendants—were acquitted.
During the trial, Gill became involved in an affair with juror Gillian Guess, which later led to her conviction for obstruction of justice and an 18-month prison sentence. Gill was also convicted of the same charge and sentenced to six years.
Although the Crown attempted to overturn the acquittal, Johal was assassinated before the retrial could take place, and Gill was never retried.
An Inside Job
By the late ‘90s, Johal had alienated even his closest allies.
His unpredictability made him a liability, and his crew may have decided to eliminate him before he could turn on them.
A Hit Ordered by a Larger Organization
Some believe a more powerful criminal group, possibly linked to the Triads or Hells Angels, wanted Johal out of the picture.
Final Thoughts: Bindy Johal Funeral
More than two decades after his death, Bindy Johal remains one of the most infamous figures in Canadian crime history.
He was:
✅ A gangster who loved the spotlight – giving TV interviews and taunting the police.
✅ A ruthless leader – ordering the deaths of rivals and even friends.
✅ His funeral marked the end of an era—but his story continues to fascinate, serving as a chilling reminder of how fast power can disappear.
Because in the end, no matter how much money you make or how feared you are, the game always catches up with you.
Stay safe!
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