The United States has formally charged incarcerated Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his alleged North American associate Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, in connection with the 2023 assassination of Canadian Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
A federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles states that Bishnoi and Brar allegedly planned the June 18, 2023 shooting of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. Bishnoi is accused of coordinating the operation from an Indian prison by using smuggled mobile phones and providing a co-conspirator with Nijjar’s photograph and multiple addresses to aid the killing.
Meanwhile, Brar, described as Bishnoi’s childhood friend and the North American leader of the Lawrence Bishnoi organized crime group, is said to have managed the network’s activities in the region. Notably, the indictment does not accuse the Indian government of involvement in Nijjar’s murder.
This killing sparked a significant diplomatic rift between Canada and India after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in September 2023 that Canadian authorities were investigating “credible allegations” of Indian government agents’ links to the assassination. India rejected these claims as “absurd.”
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and prominent advocate for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, had previously been labelled a terrorist by India. At a Los Angeles press briefing, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli and other officials made no suggestion that the Indian government had any role or prior knowledge of the killing.
The charges are part of a wider US-Canada joint probe into transnational organized crime. Authorities have charged 37 defendants allegedly connected to three India-based criminal groups with offenses including racketeering, extortion, and drug trafficking. Of these, 24 have been arrested or are already in custody.
Earlier, Canadian police arrested and charged four Indian nationals in May 2024 in relation to Nijjar’s murder and were investigating whether the suspects had ties to the Indian government. The US indictment does not name the alleged shooters, referring to them only as co-conspirators.
Relations between Canada and India have improved since Prime Minister Mark Carney assumed office. Carney made his first official visit to India in February, initiating negotiations on a bilateral trade deal expected to conclude by November. However, some Sikh organizations have criticized Carney’s approach, accusing the Canadian government of failing to hold India accountable for Nijjar’s killing and not doing enough to protect Sikh Canadians from alleged foreign interference.
