UPDATE (11:20 a.m.): The Bakersfield Police Department says former Bakersfield City Council candidate Rajvir Singh Gill, 60, was arrested on suspicion of solicitation to commit criminal acts on Sat, March 4.
A search warrant was also served at his residence.
Gill was arrested without incident at his residence around 9 p.m., according to the BPD.
Police say Gill had offered to pay multiple people to shoot specific people that he had an ongoing dispute with and also offered to pay someone to burn down a Sikh Temple.
Gill had attempted to run for City Council Ward 7 against Manpreet Kaur in 2022. Kaur won the election and was the first Sikh Punjabi woman elected to the Bakersfield City Council.
Manpreet Kaur, who won the seat for Ward 7, issued the following statement: "I am aware of the alleged allegations. I am confident the Bakersfield Police department is working diligently to keep our community safe and will address the matter accordingly. Hearing this news is distressing and frightening. This is one of our most highly attended Sikh temples locally. To hear of an alleged attempt to destroy a place of worship is heartbreaking and unfathomable."
ORIGINAL STORY (March 6, 2023): A man was arrested for allegedly soliciting criminal acts on Saturday night. The Bakersfield Police Department says Rajvir Singh Gill was the man involved and arrested.
23ABC reached out to the BPD but they said they could not confirm the man arrested was the same man who ran for city council. However, a member of the Gurudawara shaheed Baba Deep Singh ji khalsa Darbar temple tells 23ABC it was him.
“He hired the people. Those people, whoever he hired, they came and told us and they made a report for the police. So, the police called us and they got our information and everything and asked questions and we told them what's going on, and that’s when everything happened,” said Amrik Singh Athwal, a temple board member.
BPD did not elaborate on the specifics of the six counts of criminal acts Gill allegedly solicited.
23ABC reached out to Gill and to Manpreet Kaur, who won the race for council member for Ward 7 but did not hear back from either party.
