Washington, 8 July

The US has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

A federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleged that Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, referred to as "H.S.N." in court documents, outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June 2023. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, was shot dead by masked gunmen.

On Tuesday, in a coordinated operation codenamed Operation Hardball, law enforcement agencies across the US, Canada and Europe simultaneously arrested 24 people linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups.

Of the 24 arrested, 11 were in California, one each in Indiana and Georgia, three in Canada, and one in Spain. Seven defendants were already in custody. Authorities are looking for 10 fugitives, seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.

Thirty-seven defendants in total were charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday, including two who allegedly ran their criminal networks while imprisoned in India.

Bishnoi, who has been in a Delhi jail since 2015, is among those charged. The US has indicated it will seek his extradition from India. His aide Goldy Brar, whose real name is Satinderjeet Singh, remains at large. The FBI has announced a reward of USD 50,000 for information leading to his arrest.

The charges against Bishnoi include personally directing political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, narcotics smuggling and human trafficking across continents, according to US authorities. Brar was identified as the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, while Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, was named as its European leader.

During the investigation, agencies seized approximately 1,000kg of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, USD 40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.

The groups allegedly extorted victims via WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging applications by threatening violence against them or their families. Their activities, the US Justice Department said, had an impact "especially felt in the Indian diaspora."

"Working together, law enforcement in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organisations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbour for these thugs," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said.

FBI Director Kash Patel described the operation as "truly historic," noting that more than 30 people across continents had been indicted in a single operation.

Nijjar's killing had triggered a significant diplomatic fallout between India and Canada after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that intelligence agencies were examining "credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder. India dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated."

Canada had previously arrested four Indian nationals for their suspected role in Nijjar's murder and had declared the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity in September last year.