US charges Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar for Nijjar killing, 24 arrested in three countries

The authorities in the United States on Tuesday charged gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar for organised crimes and ordering the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

The charges against Bishnoi and Brar were part of a wider action against India-based gangs.

On Tuesday, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said that law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe had arrested 24 persons linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups. Eleven of them were arrested in California, and one each in Indiana and Georgia.

A federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleged that Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, mentioned as “H.S.N.” in the court documents, outside a gurdwara Canada’s Surrey in June 2023.

Nijjar was killed by masked gunmen. His killing had led to a deterioration in the relations between New Delhi and Ottawa after Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister at the time, told Parliament that intelligence agencies were examining “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the murder. India has rejected the allegations.

Nijjar was an advocate for Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation sought by some groups. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is a designated terrorist outfit in India.

Apart from those arrested in the United States in the case, three defendants were arrested in Canada and one defendant in Spain. Seven defendants were already in custody.

The persons have been charged with several criminal acts, including Nijjar’s assassination.

The arrests on Tuesday – codenamed “Operation Hard Ball” – followed a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates, the attorney’s office said.

The groups are alleged to be involved in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion and the smuggling of narcotics, among other crimes “whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora”.

During the investigation, the agencies seized about 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.

The agencies are looking for 10 fugitives, seven of whom are in the US, two in India and one in Europe, the attorney’s office said.

Thirty-seven defendants were charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday. This includes two “who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned” in India.

Bishnoi is in a jail in Delhi awaiting trial in several cases.

Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland told CBC News that the US will seek the extradition of Bishnoi from India.

Brar, whose real name is Satinderjeet Singh, is absconding.

The US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Brar. He is a designated terrorist in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The attorney’s office alleged that Bishnoi presided over a gang that spanned continents. He “personally directed” political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug smugglings, human trafficking and other crimes committed by members and associates of his gang globally, the authorities alleged.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said that the agencies in the United States, Canada and Asia were “determined to target and dismantle these criminal organizations wherever they operate”.

FBI Director Kash Patel said that the work of the US Homeland Security Task Force and foreign partners such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “was truly historic”, reiterating that more than 30 persons across continents had been indicted in a single operation.

The Canadian authorities had in May 2024 arrested four Indians for their suspected role in Nijjar’s murder.

In September, Ottawa had also declared Bishnoi’s group a “terrorist entity”.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.