A Vancouver Police investigation has led to the arrest of a suspect in the 2018 murder of a Granville Street nightclub promoter.

Kalwinder Thind, 23, was stabbed and killed outside Cabana Lounge at 1159 Granville Street on the morning of January 27, 2018, after an altercation that started between two groups inside the club spilled out to the street. Police believe Thind attempted to intervene when he was killed around 2:30 a.m.

Back in 2018, police had said that investigators determined that the fight involved two separate groups from inside the Cabana Lounge. Tension between the two groups had been brewing throughout the evening and eventually led to the fight outside.

Several people fled following the stabbing, including the suspect, who was not on scene when VPD officers arrived. VPD appealed for witnesses, reviewed video, and ultimately secured sufficient evidence to identify and subsequently arrest the suspect.

On May 28, the BC Prosecution Service approved one count of second-degree murder against 28-year-old Sukhjit Sidhu, a New Westminster resident. Sidhu was arrested that same day by VPD homicide investigators.

He remains in custody.

AT a candlelight vigil outside the nightclub a few days after Thind was stabbed to death, a speaker recounted how excited the victim was as he was scheduled to leave for India soon with his dad for the first time in his life.

Thind had been a sales consultant at Richmond Chrysler.

Thind’s former boss at sales at Richmond Chrysler, Danny Mouro, told The VOICE: “He was obviously a really good guy, fun-loving, always joking, kidding, big smile, full of life. I worked with him for a little over a year.”

He pointed out that in sales they look for a person with a great personality and someone who’d get along well with people and be outgoing. “He was definitely all those things,” Mouro said.

“He came to work with a big smile all the time … His presence was always known when he was at work. The minute he walked in the door you knew … He could be loud: “HEY!” … just a fun person to be around.  …  But he also knew when it was time to work,” Mouro added.

Mouro praised him as a hardworking person, noting: “He was working with us six days a week and still worked one night a week at Bar None.”

He said Thind was a strong man who worked out. He pointed out: “Obviously to be a doorman you have to be kind of a strong guy and you have to be able to take charge.”

He added: “He was not the guy who would start a fight, but definitely if something did happen, he’d be the guy who’d intervene and be involved and not back down.”

Mouro said Thind was planning a month-long trip to India to attend a friend’s wedding and was to have left on January 29.

When he told his bosses at Richmond Chrysler that he’d be gone for the whole of February, they told him that was fine and he was welcome to come back. However, they also told him that they might have to hire somebody in the meantime.

Mouro said that just before Christmas Thind had probably decided that he would take even more time off “because I guess he got offered this promotion at Cabana.”

“So he was doing that two nights a week and he was enjoying it. He had come by about a week ago to say hello to everyone at work, telling us his experience at the new job and how he was enjoying it.  We were all thrilled for him,” Mouro added.

Thind, who lived with his parents in Richmond, looked up to his father, who Mouro said he believed was a builder.

He added: “He had aspirations to be into the whole building thing. I think he was planning to take some real estate courses. He was goal-oriented. He definitely wanted to make sure he did well in life.”

“He was definitely a great person to be around,” Mouro said.

According to some news reports, Thind wrote in a blog under the name “Kris Thind” when he was a business student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University that he was considering being a police officer, realtor or builder.