The United States has charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar with ordering the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, as part of a sweeping crackdown on India-linked transnational organised crime networks.
A federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday alleges that Bishnoi orchestrated the assassination of Nijjar, identified as "H.S.N." in court documents, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
The charges were announced alongside "Operation Hardball", a coordinated law enforcement action involving agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe. The operation led to the arrest of 24 people, including 11 in California, allegedly linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups accused of offences ranging from murder and extortion to drug trafficking and racketeering.
"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," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli told a news conference in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment, 37 defendants have been charged across three federal indictments unsealed on Tuesday. Prosecutors said the accused include two individuals who allegedly directed global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India.
Among those arrested, 13 were held in the United States — 11 in California, one in Indiana and one in Georgia. Three suspects were arrested in Canada, one in Spain, while seven others were already in custody. Authorities said they are searching for 10 fugitives, including seven believed to be in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
Bishnoi is currently lodged in an Indian prison, while Goldy Brar remains absconding.
The indictment stems from a years-long federal investigation into criminal syndicates allegedly involved in racketeering, targeted killings, extortion, large-scale narcotics trafficking and other organised crimes with operations spanning multiple countries and affecting Indian diaspora communities.
The killing of Nijjar had severely strained diplomatic ties between India and Canada after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a possible link between the Indian government and the murder. India rejected the allegations as "absurd and motivated."
"Today's (Tuesday'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.
"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 in Canada, in the United States, and around the world," Duheme said.
(With inputs from PTI)