Gamdur Brar, a funeral home owner from Sherwood Park has been convicted of murder after allegedly shooting his wife and nephew.
On Friday, (Sep. 8) Court of King’s Bench Justice Stephen Hillier found Gamdur guilty of second-degree murder and discharging a firearm with intent.
The shooting happened in May of 2021 on Baseline Road. According to the courts, Gamdur’s wife, Satvir, went into hiding to get away from Gamdur’s drinking.
She was picked up by 19-year-old Harmanjot Bhattal, the son of Satvir’s cousin. Bhattal came to Canada to study at NAIT and was working several jobs when his life was cut short.
Satvir and Bhattal drove around, looking for a place to stay, eventually settling on Satvir’s sister-in-law’s house. In the meantime, Gamdur, who had no idea where his wife had gone, called police to report her missing.
As Bhattal and Satvir left the home, they noticed Gamdur’s BMW Z4 speeding down Baseline Road. They tried to escape, but the BMW pulled up beside them, where Gamdur allegedly began to fire off a gun. Police say he also sideswiped their car, causing them to hit a curb and blow both front tires.
As Satvir escaped the wreckage, Gamdur left his BMW and shot Bhattal twice in the head as his wife escaped with a motorist.
In court, Satvir did not identify Gamdur as the shooter, saying that she “remains devoted” to her husband. However, when she was on the phone with 911 during the car chase, she mentioned it was Gamdur who was shooting at them.
Gamdur surrendered to police an hour after the shooting. He was originally charged with first-degree murder for the death of Bhattal, and attempted murder for shooting his wife.
However, the charges were moved to second-degree murder as the shooting was not considered to have been done preemptively and was instead an act of recklessness.
Brar will be sentenced on November 10. Second-degree murder carries a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.
