As America charges jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, NIA probe against him in focus

New Delhi: The US has charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, with ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023. NIA is investigating many cases against pro-Khalistani elements-based terror syndicates and organised crimes in India.

The charges are part of a wider crackdown by the agencies in the US, Canada and Europe on three India-based transnational organised groups accused of crimes, including targeted killings, extortion and narcotics trafficking. In a coordinated action called 'Operation Hardball', authorities arrested 24 people, including 11 in California, and unsealed three indictments against 37 defendants on Tuesday. Officials said the probe had run for years and was focused on crime syndicates whose activities were especially felt across the Indian diaspora.

According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles, Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, identified in court papers as 'H.S.N.', outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 three years ago. Nijjar's killing had strained ties between India and Canada after the then prime minister Justin Trudeau sought to link the government in New Delhi to the murder. India had rejected the allegations as "absurd and motivated".


Bishnoi has long figured in investigations by Delhi-based agencies. Bishnoi (33) was lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail after being brought to the Capital in connection with a case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) before being shifted to a high-security prison in Gujarat.

In a charge sheet filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2023, National Investigation Agency (NIA) alleged that Bishnoi's syndicate had around 700 operatives across several states and maintained links abroad.

A law graduate of Panjab University, Bishnoi entered the world of crime through campus politics, before facing multiple cases of attempted murder, assault, robbery and extortion.