Top Hamilton headlines this week: Community mourns the shocking death of a young bystander + Get ready to pick your next MP
T
he weekend is here, but plenty happened in the Hamilton area this week. Don't miss these top stories from Spectator reporters.
It's
Paris to Ancaster
race weekend and there are plenty more
family friendly activities
this weekend in the Hamilton area.
There's a chance of showers Saturday but brilliant sun is in the forecast Sunday. Expect temperatures to peak at 11 C Saturday and 17 C Sunday.
Joe and Fran Tingle were inseparable, living through the birth of a son and two daughters, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Their love story began as newlyweds in 1959. It ended earlier this month in a room at Juravinski Hospital, their deaths three days apart.
Who is Fame Cartell? Scott Radley explains in this fun read about an athlete-turned-musician-turned-athlete competing to win a senior hockey championship.
Community members gathered Sunday near the site of a tragic shooting to mourn the death of a Mohawk College student killed by a stray bullet while standing at a bus stop. Harsimrat Randhawa, 21, had come from India to study in Canada. Her death has shocked both the city as well as the broader Sikh community.
At a
Mohawk College vigil
later in the week around 100 people — classmates, staff, friends, family — came together to reflect on a life cut short.
Hamilton's building department has issued a stop-work order on the construction of a new house in Lansdale that led to the demolition of a home next door.
Hamilton area voters choose the next members of Parliament Monday as the snap federal election ends. Find everything you need to know about your
candidates
and all the issues that matter in Hamilton on
thespec.com
.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gangster tells BBC why India's biggest hip-hop star was murdered
It was a killing that shocked India: Punjabi hip-hop star Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead through the windscreen of his car by hired gunmen. Within hours, a Punjabi gangster named Goldy Brar had used Facebook to claim responsibility for ordering the hit. But three years after the murder, no-one has faced trial - and Goldy Brar is still on the run, his whereabouts unknown. Now, BBC Eye has managed to make contact with Brar and challenged him about how and why Sidhu Moose Wala became a target. His response was coldly articulate. "In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven," Brar told the BBC World Service. "We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that." On a warm May evening in 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala was taking his black Mahindra Thar SUV for its usual spin through dusty lanes near his village in the northern Indian state of Punjab when, within minutes, two cars began tailing him. CCTV footage later showed them weaving through narrow turns, sticking close. Then, at a bend in the road, one of the vehicles lurched forward, cornering Moose Wala's SUV against a wall. He was trapped. Moments later, the shooting began. Mobile footage captured the aftermath. His SUV was riddled with bullets, the windscreen shattered, the bonnet punctured. In trembling voices, bystanders expressed their shock and concern. "Someone get him out of the car." "Get some water." "Moose Wala has been shot." But it was too late. He was declared dead on arrival at hospital - hit by 24 bullets, a post-mortem would later reveal. The 28-year-old rapper, one of modern-day Punjab's biggest cultural icons, had been gunned down in broad daylight. A cousin and a friend who had been in the car with Moose Wala at the time of the ambush were injured, but survived. Six gunmen were eventually identified. They carried AK-47s and pistols. In the weeks that followed the murder, about 30 people were arrested and two of the suspected armed men were killed in what the Indian police described as "encounters". Yet even with arrests piling up, the motive remained murky. Goldy Brar, who claims to have ordered the hit, wasn't in India at the time of the killing. He is believed to have been in Canada. Our conversation with him unfolded over six hours, pieced together through an exchange of voice notes. It gave us a chance to find out why Moose Wala had been killed and to interrogate the motives of the man who claimed responsibility. Sidhu Moose Wala was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu in a Jat-Sikh family in rural Punjab, before moving in 2016 to Canada to study engineering - a journey familiar to hundreds of thousands in the Punjabi diaspora. But it was there, far from his village of Moosa - the inspiration for his rap name - that he reinvented himself as one of Punjabi music's most influential artists. In just five years, Moose Wala became the unmistakable voice of Punjabi hip-hop. With his signature swagger, flashy style, and lyrical grit, Moose Wala sang openly about identity and politics, guns and revenge, pushing the boundaries of what Punjabi music had been willing to say. He was fascinated by rapper Tupac Shakur, who had been murdered, aged 25, in 1996. "In terms of personality, I want to be like him," Moose Wala once told an interviewer. "The day he died, people cried for him. I want the same. When I die, people should remember that I was someone." Over a brief but explosive career, the singer spotlighted the darker undercurrents of India's Punjab region - gangster culture, unemployment, and political decay - while evoking a deep nostalgia for village life. Moose Wala was also a global force. With more than five billion views of his music videos on YouTube, a Top 5 spot in the UK charts, and collaborations with international hip-hop artists including Burna Boy, Moose Wala swiftly built a fan base stretching across India, Canada, the UK and beyond, powered by a diaspora that saw him as both icon and insurgent. But fame came at a cost. Despite his rising star and socially conscious lyrics, Moose Wala was drifting into dangerous territory. His defiant attitude, visibility, and growing influence had drawn the attention of Punjab's most feared gangsters. These included Goldy Brar, and Brar's friend Lawrence Bishnoi, who even then was in high-security jail in India. Not much is known about Brar, apart from the fact he is on the Interpol Red Notice list, and is a key operative in a network of gangsters operated by Bishnoi – orchestrating hits, issuing threats and amplifying the gang's reach. It is thought he emigrated to Canada in 2017, just a year after Moose Wala himself, and initially worked as a truck driver. Bishnoi, once a student leader steeped in Punjab's violent campus politics, has grown into one of India's most feared criminal masterminds. "The first [police] cases filed against Lawrence Bishnoi were all related to student politics and student elections… beating a rival student leader, kidnapping him, harming him," according to Jupinderjit Singh, deputy editor of Indian newspaper the Tribune. This led to a spell in jail which hardened him further, says Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, Assistant Inspector General of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab Police. "Once he was in jail, he started to get deeper into crime. Then he formed a group of his own. When it became an inter-gang thing, he needed money for survival. They need more manpower, they need more weapons. They need money for all that. So, for money, you have to get into extortion or crime." Now 31, Bishnoi runs his syndicate from behind bars - with dedicated Instagram pages and a cult-like following. "So while Bishnoi sits in jail, Brar handles the gangs," says Assistant Inspector General Chauhan. Securing BBC Eye's exchange with Brar took a year of chasing - cultivating sources, waiting for replies, gradually getting closer to the kingpin himself. But when we got through to Brar, the conversation cast new light on the question of how and why he and Bishnoi came to see Moose Wala as an enemy. One of the first revelations was that Bishnoi's relationship with Moose Wala went back several years, long before the singer's killing. "Lawrence [Bishnoi] was in touch with Sidhu [Moose Wala]. I don't know who introduced them, and I never asked. But they did speak," said Brar. "Sidhu used to send 'good morning' and 'good night' messages in an effort to flatter Lawrence." A friend of Moose Wala's, who spoke anonymously, also told us that Bishnoi had been in touch with Moose Wala as early as 2018, calling him from jail and telling him he liked his music. Brar told us that the "first dispute" between them came after Moose Wala had moved back to India. It began with a seemingly innocuous match of kabbadi - a traditional South Asian contact team sport - in a Punjabi village. Moose Wala had promoted the tournament which was organised by Bishnoi's rivals - the Bambiha gang - Brar told us, in a sport where match-fixing and gangster influence are rampant. "That's a village our rivals come from. He was promoting our rivals. That's when Lawrence and others were upset with him. They threatened Sidhu and said they wouldn't spare him," Brar told BBC Eye. Yet the dispute between Moose Wala and Bishnoi was eventually resolved by an associate of Bishnoi's called Vicky Middhukhera. But when Middukhera himself was gunned down by gangsters in a parking lot in Mohali in August 2021, Brar told us Bishnoi's hostility towards Sidhu Moose Wala reached the point of no return. The Bambiha gang claimed responsibility for killing Middukhera. The police named Moose Wala's friend and sometime manager Shaganpreet Singh on the charge sheet, citing evidence that Singh had provided information and logistical support to the gunmen. Singh later fled India and is believed to be in Australia. Moose Wala denied any involvement. The Punjab police told the BBC there was no evidence linking Moose Wala to the killing or to any gang-related crime. But Moose Wala was friends with Shaganpreet Singh, and he was never able to shake off the perception that he was aligned with the Bambiha gang - a perception that may have cost him his life. Although he can cite no proof of Moose Wala's involvement, Brar remains convinced that the singer was somehow complicit in the killing of Middukhera. Brar repeatedly told us that Shaganpreet Singh had assisted the gunmen in the days before Middukhera's shooting - and inferred that Moose Wala himself must have been involved. "Everyone knew Sidhu's role, the police investigating knew, even the journalists who were investigating knew. Sidhu mixed with politicians and people in power. He was using political power, money, his resources to help our rivals," Brar told BBC Eye. "We wanted him to face punishment for what he'd done. He should have been booked. He should have been jailed. But nobody listened to our plea. "So we took it upon ourselves. When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard." We put it to Brar that India has a judicial system and the rule of law - how could he justify taking the law into his own hands? "Law. Justice. There's no such thing," he says. "Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us." He went on to say that even Vicky Middukhera's brother, despite being in politics, has struggled to get justice through India's judicial system. "He's a clean guy. He tried hard to get justice for his brother lawfully. Please call him and ask how that's going." He appeared unrepentant. "I did what I had to do for my brother. I have no remorse whatsoever." Outside the UK, watch on YouTube, or listen on The killing of Moose Wala has not just resulted in the loss of a major musical talent, it has also emboldened Punjab's gangsters. Before the singer's murder, few outside Punjab had heard of Bishnoi or Brar. After the killing, their names were everywhere. They hijacked Moose Wala's fame and converted it into their own brand of notoriety - a notoriety that became a powerful tool for extortion. "This is the biggest killing that has happened in the last few decades in Punjab," says Ritesh Lakhi, a Punjab-based journalist. "The capacity of gangsters to extort money has gone up. [Goldy Brar]'s getting huge sums of money after killing Moose Wala." Journalist Jupinderjit Singh agrees: "The fear factor around gangsters has risen amongst the public." Extortion has long been a problem in the Punjabi music industry, but now after Sidhu's murder, Singh says: "It's not just people in the music and film industry who are being extorted - even local businessmen are receiving calls." When BBC Eye quizzed Brar on this, he denied this was the motive, but died admit - in stark terms - that extortion was central to the gang's working. "To feed a family of four a man has to struggle all his life. We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people. "To get money," he says, "we have to be feared."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein jurors beg for coffee ‘for energy' as grueling, dramatic deliberations continue in NYC sex crimes retrial
Jurors weighing Harvey Weinstein's fate pleaded for a dose of caffeine as their grueling deliberations continued Monday — with yet another dramatic revelation about apparent dysfunction in the jury room. The third day of deliberations in Weinstein's Manhattan sex-crimes retrial ended without a verdict, and with a request from jurors for a cup of Joe when they return Tuesday morning. 'We the jury request coffee, tomorrow morning for energy,' read a note sent to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber. It came after more drama unfolded in the morning, when the panel sent notes to the court asking to be reminded of the definition of reasonable doubt and how to avoid a hung jury. A separate note accompanied that request, sent by the foreman, Juror No. 1, who said he needed to speak to the judge 'about a situation that isn't very good.' Juror No. 1, who had asked late Friday to speak to the court before changing his mind, expressed concern about 'something going on in the jury room' — later revealing that jurors have discussed Weinstein's general past. 'They are pushing people, talking about his past,' the juror said in a closed-doors meeting with attorneys, according to a transcript of the conversation. It's unclear what exactly from the disgraced Hollywood honcho's checkered past jurors were whispering about — but the disclosure was enough for Weinstein's attorney, Arthur Aidala, to demand an end to deliberations. 'He's coming to us crying for help. We don't send him into the lion's den without taking any action,' Aidala cried out in the meeting, before asking the judge for a mistrial. 'There is a tainted jury, there's jury misconduct.' Aidala charged. 'There's information in the jury room that we now know… People are considering things that were not in this trial as evidence.' Farber ultimately denied Weinstein's latest mistrial bid — the second such request made by Aidala over what appeared to be rising tension between jurors. The attorney also made a failed bid for a mistrial Friday after Juror No. 7, described as a 25-year-old 'computer kid,' asked to be dismissed from the case, saying that 'playground stuff' had broken out among the groups, with some on the jury gossiping about one of their own. 'The experience I've had in the day-and-a-half here, in good conscience, I don't think this is fair and just,' he told the court Friday morning when he was brought to the witness box to explain why he wanted to quit. Aidala, while arguing for the case to be tossed, said the judge should have questioned the juror further to inquire about the drama. But Farber shot down the bid, dismissing the juror's concerns as nothing more than typical 'abnormal tensions during deliberations.' The judge's guidance was confirmed by another juror, Juror No. 10, who provided a positive deliberations update just before noon Monday. 'I just basically wanted to give the temperature. I think that things are going well today,' the woman said. 'The tone is very different today. We're making headway.' The jury sent a flurry of notes to the court Monday — including asking for a re-reading of trial testimony from clinical psychologist Lisa Rocchio, who had explained why sexual assault victims might maintain contact with their attackers. They also asked for a laptop with emails and evidence from the testimony of Jessica Mann, a former actress who cried during her time on the stand as she graphically detailed an alleged 2013 rape by Weinstein. But the panel was notified that their coffee ask would be a 'tough no' — because the state doesn't provide anything but lunch for jurors during trials. 'As much as I would love to give you coffee, I'm powerless,' the judge said, drawing a smile from jurors before he suggested they all chip in to buy a jug of Joe from Dunkin' Donuts. The jury will resume its deliberations on Tuesday morning. Weinstein, 73, was originally found guilty at trial in 2020 of criminal sex act and rape and given a 23-year prison sentence — but New York's highest court tossed the conviction last year. The fallen Miramax founder faces up to 25 years in prison at his retrial on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, and four years in prison on third-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Harvey Weinstein jurors beg for coffee ‘for energy' as grueling, dramatic deliberations continue in NYC sex crimes retrial
Jurors weighing Harvey Weinstein's fate pleaded for a dose of caffeine as their grueling deliberations continued Monday — with yet another dramatic revelation about apparent dysfunction in the jury room. The third day of deliberations in Weinstein's Manhattan sex-crimes retrial ended without a verdict, and with a request from jurors for a cup of Joe when they return Tuesday morning. 'We the jury request coffee, tomorrow morning for energy,' read a note sent to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber. Advertisement 7 The third day of deliberations in Weinstein's Manhattan sex-crimes retrial ended without a verdict. Steven Hirsch It came after more drama unfolded in the morning, when the panel sent notes to the court asking to be reminded of the definition of reasonable doubt and how to avoid a hung jury. A separate note accompanied that request, sent by the foreman, Juror No. 1, who said he needed to speak to the judge 'about a situation that isn't very good.' Advertisement Juror No. 1, who had asked late Friday to speak to the court before changing his mind, expressed concern about 'something going on in the jury room' — later revealing that jurors have discussed Weinstein's general past. 7 It came after more drama unfolded in the morning, when the panel sent notes to the court asking to be reminded of the definition of reasonable doubt. AP 'They are pushing people, talking about his past,' the juror said in a closed-doors meeting with attorneys, according to a transcript of the conversation. It's unclear what exactly from the disgraced Hollywood honcho's checkered past jurors were whispering about — but the disclosure was enough for Weinstein's attorney, Arthur Aidala, to demand an end to deliberations. Advertisement 7 'They are pushing people, talking about his past,' the juror said in a closed-doors meeting with attorneys, according to a transcript of the conversation. Getty Images 'He's coming to us crying for help. We don't send him into the lion's den without taking any action,' Aidala cried out in the meeting, before asking the judge for a mistrial. 'There is a tainted jury, there's jury misconduct.' Aidala charged. 'There's information in the jury room that we now know… People are considering things that were not in this trial as evidence.' Farber ultimately denied Weinstein's latest mistrial bid — the second such request made by Aidala over what appeared to be rising tension between jurors. Advertisement 7 It's unclear what exactly from the disgraced Hollywood honcho's checkered past jurors were whispering about. AP The attorney also made a failed bid for a mistrial Friday after Juror No. 7, described as a 25-year-old 'computer kid,' asked to be dismissed from the case, saying that 'playground stuff' had broken out among the groups, with some on the jury gossiping about one of their own. 'The experience I've had in the day-and-a-half here, in good conscience, I don't think this is fair and just,' he told the court Friday morning when he was brought to the witness box to explain why he wanted to quit. 7 Farber ultimately denied Weinstein's latest mistrial bid — the second such request made by Aidala over what appeared to be rising tension between jurors. Steven Hirsch Aidala, while arguing for the case to be tossed, said the judge should have questioned the juror further to inquire about the drama. But Farber shot down the bid, dismissing the juror's concerns as nothing more than typical 'abnormal tensions during deliberations.' The judge's guidance was confirmed by another juror, Juror No. 10, who provided a positive deliberations update just before noon Monday. 'I just basically wanted to give the temperature. I think that things are going well today,' the woman said. 'The tone is very different today. We're making headway.' Advertisement 7 Aidala, while arguing for the case to be tossed, said the judge should have questioned the juror further to inquire about the drama. AP The jury sent a flurry of notes to the court Monday — including asking for a re-reading of trial testimony from clinical psychologist Lisa Rocchio, who had explained why sexual assault victims might maintain contact with their attackers. They also asked for a laptop with emails and evidence from the testimony of Jessica Mann, a former actress who cried during her time on the stand as she graphically detailed an alleged 2013 rape by Weinstein. But the panel was notified that their coffee ask would be a 'tough no' — because the state doesn't provide anything but lunch for jurors during trials. Advertisement 7 The judge's guidance was confirmed by another juror, Juror No. 10, who provided a positive deliberations update just before noon Monday. Steven Hirsch 'As much as I would love to give you coffee, I'm powerless,' the judge said, drawing a smile from jurors before he suggested they all chip in to buy a jug of Joe from Dunkin' Donuts. The jury will resume its deliberations on Tuesday morning. Weinstein, 73, was originally found guilty at trial in 2020 of criminal sex act and rape and given a 23-year prison sentence — but New York's highest court tossed the conviction last year. Advertisement The fallen Miramax founder faces up to 25 years in prison at his retrial on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, and four years in prison on third-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty.
