Key facts
- The U.S. has charged imprisoned Indian gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi and his deputy Satinderjeet Singh with ordering the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
- The indictment alleges Bishnoi directed the killing from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones.
- Satinderjeet Singh, also known as "Goldy Brar," allegedly directed the North American operations of the criminal group.
- Nijjar's murder in June 2023 outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia led to a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India.
- The U.S. indictment does not allege any involvement or awareness by the Indian government in the killing.
- The charges are part of a larger U.S. and Canadian investigation into three India-based organized crime groups involved in racketeering, extortion, and drug trafficking.
The United States has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, the imprisoned head of an Indian criminal gang, and his North American deputy, Satinderjeet Singh (also known as "Goldy Brar"), with directing the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleges that Bishnoi, using smuggled cellphones from an Indian jail, and Singh ordered Nijjar's shooting outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, had advocated for an independent Sikh homeland and was designated a terrorist by New Delhi. His killing triggered a diplomatic crisis after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Canadian authorities were pursuing credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder, a claim India rejected as absurd. The U.S. indictment, however, does not allege any role by the Indian government in the killing.
The charges against Bishnoi and Singh are part of a larger investigation by U.S. and Canadian authorities that has charged 37 defendants tied to three India-based organized crime groups with racketeering, extortion, and drug trafficking. Canadian police arrested four Indian nationals in May 2024 in connection with Nijjar's murder and are investigating potential ties to the Indian government. The U.S. indictment does not name the alleged shooters.
Relations between Canada and India have shown signs of thawing under current Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who visited India in February. However, some Sikh groups have criticized Ottawa's approach, accusing it of failing to hold India accountable for foreign interference and transnational repression.