Owner says crime makes him question the Canadian dream
“I don’t feel safe to do business here in Scarborough,” Siva Rapaka said at a rally on May 29, where he joined his employees in demanding justice after two of his restaurants were burned down in back to back arson attacks on May 23 and 24.
Three masked suspects broke into Shaaz Indian Cuisine on Lawrence Ave East and Kennedy Rd., poured gasoline throughout and lit it on fire.
The four employees working in the restaurant at the time were all able to escape safely out the back and call 911.
Less than 24 hours later, a second restaurant owned by Rapaka and open for less than a week, Bisi Bisi, on Kennedy Rd, was also deliberately set on fire by masked suspects.
Police have confirmed that they believe the restaurants were targeted and the arsons are connected. They are searching for the masked suspects seen in surveillance footage fleeing in a silver coloured SUV.
In the meantime, Rapaka’s 80 employees are now out of work and Rapaka himself, the owner of multiple restaurants across the country, is reconsidering his “Canadian dream.”
He now says he is looking to “explore other places where it’s much safer to do business.” When asked by reporters why he believes his restaurants were targeted, he said, “I think it’s organized crime.”
Several high-profile crimes with links to organized crime, both in Scarborough and the GTA, have made headlines in recent weeks.
On June 4, Police announced arrests in the March 7 mass shooting at the Piper Arms Pub in Scarborough as well as two other Scarborough shootings and other violent incidents across the city.
Superintendent Paul MacIntyre of Organized Crime Enforcement said at the June 4 news conference that although the group of 11 suspects were not formally considered a “gang” they were “probably for hire” and that some of the shootings were linked to the “tow truck turf wars” that have plagued the city for years.
Peel police also announced arrests in a homicide that is also possibly linked to organized crime.
On June 3, Peel Police said they had arrested two men who fled to British Columbia after shooting 51 year old Harjeet Dhadda in a parking lot in Mississauga. According to his daughter, Gurlin Dhadda, Dhadda had previously been threatened with extortion, with someone threatening his life if he didn’t pay them $500 000.
Police have not confirmed the extortion claims, but do believe the shooting was targeted.
According to the RCMP, extortion schemes targeting South Asian businesses involving shootings and arsons are a problem in BC, Alberta and Ontario. They have established a “nationwide alliance” of police agencies to investigate these crimes, which they link to organized crime groups.
