VANCOUVER — A Canadian court has sentenced Balraj Basra, an Indian-origin man, to 25 years in prison for his role in a 2022 homicide and arson case, marking the third conviction connected to the killing of Vishal Walia at a golf club near the University of British Columbia (UBC).
A jury at the Supreme Court of British Columbia found Basra guilty on Tuesday of first-degree murder and arson, according to CityNews. The sentencing follows an investigation led by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), which described the crime as a coordinated and deliberate attack.
The incident occurred on October 17, 2022, when 38-year-old Vishal Walia was fatally shot at a golf club located on UBC lands. Police said the suspects — Basra, Iqbal Kang, and Deandre Baptiste — fled the scene after setting a getaway vehicle on fire to destroy evidence.
Officers from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), working with the British Columbia Highway Patrol and the Richmond RCMP, apprehended the three men shortly after the shooting.
All three have now been convicted and sentenced:
- Balraj Basra – 25 years in prison for first-degree murder and arson.
- Iqbal Kang – 17 years for murder plus an additional five-year concurrent sentence for arson.
- Deandre Baptiste – Life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 17 years.
The coordinated arrests and swift convictions bring closure to a case that shocked the UBC community and the wider Vancouver area.
Authorities said the sentences reflect the severity of the crime, which involved “a cold and calculated act of violence followed by an attempt to destroy evidence.”