- US charged Bishnoi, Brar for orchestrating Hardeep Nijjar’s murder.
- Imprisoned Bishnoi allegedly directed plot, Brar managed North American operations.
- Killing sparked Canada-India diplomatic crisis; indictment avoids government accusation.
Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his North American lieutenant, Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, were charged by the US for orchestrating the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The 2023 killing of the Sikh separatist triggered one of the deepest diplomatic crises between Canada and India in recent years.
According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles, Bishnoi and Brar directed the fatal shooting of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver in British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
According to US prosecutors, the operation was coordinated through the Lawrence Bishnoi Organised Crime Group, reported Reuters.
The indictment alleges that Bishnoi, despite being imprisoned in India, directed the plot using smuggled mobile phones. Prosecutors claim he supplied a co-conspirator with a photograph of Nijjar, along with several addresses linked to him, to facilitate the assassination. Singh, described as Bishnoi’s childhood friend, allegedly oversaw the criminal group’s operations across North America.
US Indictment Details Alleged Conspiracy
The charges state that Bishnoi and Singh played central roles in planning the killing, but the indictment does not accuse the Indian government of involvement in the assassination.
Nijjar’s death sparked a major diplomatic dispute after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said months later that Canadian authorities were pursuing what he described as “credible allegations” connecting Indian government agents to the killing. India rejected the accusation, calling it absurd.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, had campaigned for the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland carved out of India. New Delhi had designated him a terrorist before his death.
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No Links To Indian Government
Neither First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli nor any other U.S. official speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles alleged that the Indian government was involved in or had prior knowledge of Nijjar’s killing.
The charges against Bishnoi and Singh form part of a wider joint investigation by U.S. and Canadian authorities targeting organised crime networks. Authorities announced charges against 37 defendants allegedly linked to three India-based criminal organisations on accusations including racketeering, extortion and drug trafficking. Officials said 24 of those charged had either been arrested or were already in custody.
Although Canadian police arrested and charged four Indian nationals in May 2024 over Nijjar’s murder, the U.S. indictment does not identify the alleged gunmen as defendants. Instead, it refers to them only as co-conspirators.
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Canada-India Ties Show Signs Of Recovery
Diplomatic relations between Canada and India have gradually improved under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. During his first official visit to India in February, Carney reopened discussions on a bilateral trade agreement that both sides expect to conclude by November.
However, the renewed engagement has drawn criticism from some Sikh organisations. They argue that Ottawa has not done enough to hold India accountable over Nijjar’s killing or to protect Sikh Canadians from what they describe as foreign interference and transnational repression.
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