The Lawrence Bishnoi gang, declared a terrorist organization by the Canadian government in September, appears to be attempting to rebrand itself in Canada's South Asian community as a group of principled criminals who pursue the wicked while leaving ordinary hard-working citizens alone.

The gang has long used social media to claim or deny responsibility for shootings, threaten rivals, and issue various kinds of statements. It often posts videos of its violent exploits.

More recently, however, the gang seems keen to improve its public image.

The rebranding effort comes as South Asian communities, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario, continue to experience a wave of what appear to be extortion-related attacks.

Early on Thursday, a café belonging to well-known Indian comedian Kapil Sharma in Surrey, B.C., was attacked for the third time, with gunmen firing bullets through the windows while staff were working inside. None were injured.

Video claiming to show one of those shootings was also posted online. In it, a person can be seen firing a semi-automatic pistol from the window of a car into a glass-fronted building at night.

"This has the earmarks of extortion," Surrey Police spokesperson Ian MacDonald told CBC News, adding that their department and the Provincial Extortion Task Force are already investigating the previous shootings at Kap's C