US and Canadian authorities have charged Lawrence Bishnoi, the imprisoned head of an Indian criminal gang, with orchestrating the 2023 assassination of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
As part of Operation Hard Ball, a multiyear federal investigation, authorities charged 37 individuals, some already in custody. Authorities are still searching for seven fugitives in the US, two in India, and one in Europe. The highest-profile indictment was of Lawrence Bishnoi, who is accused of directing the murder from his prison cell in Delhi using smuggled mobile phones.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot in 2023 outside a temple in Canada where he served as president. Police also charged his childhood friend, Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, who is now a fugitive in the US.
Bishnoi allegedly provided a co-conspirator with photos of Nijjar and his known addresses to facilitate the assassination. The brazen daylight shooting sparked tensions between Canada and India after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" of Indian government involvement.
Nijjar was a leading figure in the movement for an independent Sikh homeland, Khalistan. Indian authorities had called him a terrorist and offered a reward for his arrest. Sikh diaspora activism has been a source of tension between India and Canada for years. Canada has the largest Sikh population outside India, and India has accused Canada of tolerating "terrorists and extremists."
Canada recently designated the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity. Moninder Singh, a friend of Nijjar, said the charges sent a strong message about public safety. He expressed fear that shifting narratives about India's role have emboldened India to crush dissent worldwide. "The omission of state-level actors like India suggests that bilateral trade deals and geopolitical partnerships are being prioritised over the uniform protection of Canadian citizens from foreign interference and transnational repression," he said.
He said he had received four warnings of "imminent assassination by India and its proxies," the most recent including his wife and two children. India's envoy to Ottawa, Dinesh Patnaik, has said India never conducted foreign interference in Canada, but questions persist. Canadian police believe a consular employee helped supply information on Nijjar. In May 2025, four Indian nationals were charged with murder and conspiracy in relation to Nijjar's killing.
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme called the charges "a big moment for the RCMP and for public safety in Canada, the United States and around the world." He described Bishnoi and his co-conspirators as "some of the most cruel and wide-reaching criminals." As part of the operation, police seized approximately 1,000 kg of cocaine and a dozen firearms.