A Burnaby man facing charges after allegedly trying to lure a minor for a sexual purpose was a realtor working at Sutton Centre Realty.
Multiple people associated with the Burnaby office told CTV News that 35-year-old Kuljinder Singh Bhatti, also known as Kelly Bhatti, worked at the Boundary Road firm. The office manager accepted his resignation Wednesday.
Links to Bhatti's real estate website were no longer functional, but could be accessed by internet archives. CTV News tried to contact Bhatti using numbers listed online, but his cellphone was turned off on Saturday.
Bhatti was arrested by Surrey RCMP on Thursday, and is alleged to have made an arrangement with a person to commit a sexual offence involving someone under the age of 18.
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and a trial date has yet to be set.
Mounties have provided few details in the case, but said he was arrested following an investigation that began when police received a complaint on Monday, April 3. They said Bhatti was not previously known to Surrey Mounties.
RCMP would not say whether the arrest was linked to a Surrey Creep Catcher sting that took place the same Monday, which resulted in the arrest of the group's president Ryan Laforge. The leader was released from custody hours later on a promise to appear, and no charges have been posted on B.C.'s online court service.
Mounties said there are allegations that the accused was assaulted by a civilian, but that the claims are still under investigation. The Bhatti investigation is being handled by the force's special victims unit, while its general investigations unit is looking into the assault allegations.
While the RCMP is tight-lipped about the case, sources associated with Sutton Centre Realty said they recognized Bhatti as the man in the Creep Catchers video.
Anyone with more information on the case is asked to contact RCMP at 604-599-0502, or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
