US charges Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar for Nijjar’s killing in Canada

Washington, July 8: The US has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bishnoi ordered the killing of the 45-year-old Nijjar, referred to as ‘HSN’ in court documents.
While Bishnoi is already in an Indian jail, the FBI announced a reward of USD 50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Singh alias Brar.
“On July 1, 2026, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Singh ‘Brar’ in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles, California, after he was charged with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Interfere and Attempted Interference with Commerce by Extortion; and Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances,” the FBI said.
Singh has ties to Sacramento and Fresno, California; Canada; India; and Mexico, the FBI said.
In a coordinated action named ‘Operation Hardball’, law enforcement agencies from the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 persons, including 11 in California, connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of 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 organisations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbour for these thugs,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli told a news conference in Los Angeles.
The killing of Nijjar soured bilateral relations between India and Canada after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to link the government in New Delhi to the murder.
India has dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
The current action is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates engaged in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world, the impact of which is especially felt in the Indian diaspora, the Justice Department said.
According to the Justice Department, Bishnoi had delegated control of his enterprise to trusted lieutenants and regional leaders. These included Brar as the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, as the European leader, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, of Punjab.
According to the indictment, both Brar and Godara effectively spoke for Bishnoi and helped direct the actions of members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide, including acts of violence committed by the gang’s members and associates in the United States, Canada and elsewhere.
According to the indictment documents, Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and others extorted victims via WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging applications by threatening violence against the victims or their families.
In total, 37 defendants, including two who allegedly ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India, were charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday.
Those arrested in the United States, besides the 11 in California, included one in Indiana and one in Georgia. They are expected to make their initial appearances on Wednesday in federal court.
Three defendants were arrested in Canada, one in Spain, and seven were already in custody.
The agencies are looking for 10 fugitives, seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
Bishnoi has been imprisoned in India since 2015, while his aide Goldy Brar remains at large. (PTI)