US Charges Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar for Nijjar's Killing in Canada
The United States has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster currently imprisoned in India, and his associate Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023.
According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The indictment refers to Nijjar as 'H.S.N.'
The charges are part of a coordinated action named 'Operation Hardball', involving law enforcement agencies from the US, Canada, and Europe. Twenty-four people have been arrested—11 of them in California—in connection with three India-based transnational organised crime groups accused of multiple criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination.
'Working together, law enforcement in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organizations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbor for these thugs,' said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli at a news conference in Los Angeles.
The killing of Nijjar strained bilateral ties between India and Canada. Canada's then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a link between the Indian government and the murder, a claim India dismissed as 'absurd and motivated'. The current US action is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates involved in racketeering, targeted killings, extortion, and drug trafficking that affect the Indian diaspora.
In total, 37 defendants have been charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday. Among them are two defendants who ran their global criminal networks while imprisoned in India. Arrests were made in California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada, and Spain, while seven defendants were already in custody. Authorities are still searching for 10 fugitives, including two in India.
'Today's coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorised families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the US and abroad,' said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme said the agencies disrupted the operations of 'organized criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States.' He added, 'We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done – we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety.'
