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Breadcrumb Trail Links Home News Canada Canadian Politics Share this Story : National Post Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Indian Bishnoi gang leaders charged in connection with 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist in Canada The U.S. charged Lawrence Bishnoi, the head of the Bishnoi gang, and a top Canada-based lieutenant, in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar Author of the article: By Jesse Snyder Published Jul 07, 2026 Last updated 2 days ago 4 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account. FBI agents in Northern California arrested and charge several men as part of an investigation into the actions of the Bishboi gang and other Indian based crime gangs. Photo by Federal Bureau of Investigation / Government of the United States Article content The U.S. Department of Justice said two leaders of India’s Bishnoi gang have been charged in connection with the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a major development in a suspected political assassination that badly ruptured Canada-India relations. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content In a newly unsealed indictment, U.S. authorities charged Lawrence Bishnoi, the head of the Bishnoi gang who is currently imprisoned in India, for his alleged involvement in the murder. Nijjar was gunned down in June 2023 in the parking lot of his Surrey, B.C., temple. Satinderjeet Singh, a top Canada-based lieutenant for the Bishnoi gang known as Goldy Brar, is also named in the indictment for his alleged role in the killing. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Indian Bishnoi gang leaders charged in connection with 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist in Canada Back to video We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Play Video Article content Article content The charges mark a significant escalation in the earlier allegations that Canada had levelled against the Indian government, asserting after the assassination that top Indian officials had ordered Nijjar’s killing. Article content Exclusive Newsletter Political Hack Political Hack gets at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill. Wednesdays and Fridays. Subscribe Now See all of our newsletters Article content Tuesday’s indictments do not connect the killing to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, but clarify the Bishnoi gang’s alleged role in the murder, which was also earlier alleged by Canadian authorities. Ottawa officially designated the Bishnoi gang, a Indian crime syndicate with a growing network in Canada, as a terrorist entity in September 2025. Article content The new allegations come to light as Canadian, U.S. and European authorities said they had arrested 24 suspects in connection with three separate Indian crime groups on Tuesday. The charges come as part of a widening crackdown on a transnational crime wave behind a ripple of murders, arsons and extortions that have become increasingly common in some Canadian cities. Article content A photo of murdered Sikh independence leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is carried during a protest outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver on June 24, 2023. Photo by Jason Payne/Postmedia/File Article content Three of the 24 suspects were arrested in Canada, according to statements issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Article content Article content Canadian and U.S. authorities allege that many of the suspects are known associates of the Bishnoi gang, which operates a growing network focused around cities and suburbs in greater Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton. Article content Read More Bishnoi Gang: What we know about the India-based criminal group claiming to have operatives in Canada FIRST READING: How lax immigration brought one of Canada's most dangerous gangs to life Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content In addition, another 13 suspects were arrested in the U.S. and one in Spain. Seven suspects had already been in custody before police publicized the arrests. Article content U.S. authorities unsealed a total of three indictments against 37 suspects, including three major crime ring bosses based in India. Bishnoi is one, and the other two — Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria — are also known Indian drug and crime kingpins. Article content As part of the joint operation, police say they are also looking for 10 fugitives currently at large in the U.S., India and Europe, according to the DOJ statement. Article content Neither the Department of Justice nor the RCMP directly named the Canadian suspects in its press releases. The RCMP said it arrested three suspects in Surrey, West Vancouver and White Rock, B.C., and will now apply to have the trio extradited to the U.S. Article content “Together, we disrupted the operations of organized criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a statement. Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet. Trending Student pilot left to land the plane after flight instructor jumps to his death World Canada, U.S. both roll back welcome mat for international students News Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Couple sues Ontario surrogate mother who refused to abort fetus News Why Canada and the U.S. can't agree on opening the Gordie Howe Bridge Canada Randall Denley: The Ontario-Alberta oil pipeline proposal isn't helping NP Comment Advertisement 2 Advertisement This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “Today’s coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorized families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the U.S. and abroad,” said Patrick Grandy, assistant director in the FBI’s Los Angeles office. Article content Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi pictured in 2022. Despite being in an Indian prison, he’s one of the key figures in an extortion crisis sweeping Canada. Photo by Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Article content Canadian authorities have long asserted that the Bishnoi gang was the group that carried out the political assassination of Nijjar on behalf of Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. However, those assertions — including from former prime minister Justin Trudeau — never led to formal charges. Article content The Indian government has worked to repress the Sikh separatist movement, which has for decades sought to establish an autonomous state of Khalistan in northern India’s Punjabi region. While Sikh separatism has died down since its peak in the 1980s, the Indian government continues to suppress those sentiments in its various diaspora communities. Article content Canada has the second-largest population of Sikhs in the world outside of India, making it a prime battleground for such repression efforts. Article content Article content The Bishnoi gang is also allegedly connected to a string of extortions, particularly in Surrey, B.C., and Brampton, Ont., targeting Sikhs and other South Asians living in Canada. Article content Under such schemes, the Bishnoi gang and other enterprises demand payment from select diaspora small business owners in the form of cash, crypto or money transfers, according to a report by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Gang members then threaten those families or business owners who don’t pay, often by shooting at their homes and setting their vehicles on fire, according to police reports and court hearings later reported by media. Article content As part of the joint arrests unveiled on Tuesday — called “Operation Hard Ball,” according to U.S. authorities — police forces seized 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, US$40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms. Article content Bishnoi has been imprisoned in India since 2015, but authorities allege he continues to run his crime syndicate from behind bars. In its press release, the Department of Justice said Bishnoi operates the gang using “contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell.” Article content Article content Bishnoi “personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide,” the statement said. Article content In May 2024, the RCMP named four suspects — all of them in their 20s — that it had arrested in connection with the Nijjar killing. Amandeep Singh, Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar are currently awaiting trial. Article content Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. 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