Lawrence Bishnoi, a 33-year-old Indian criminal gang leader held in prison, was charged by US authorities with directing the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia [1, 2, 3]. Bishnoi allegedly used smuggled phones from his Indian jail cell to coordinate the killing, providing a co-conspirator with Nijjar’s photograph and multiple addresses [1, 3].
Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar and Bishnoi’s childhood friend, was charged alongside Bishnoi for directing the murder. Brar manages the North American operations of the Bishnoi gang, one of three India-based organized crime groups implicated in a wide-ranging investigation [1, 2, 3].
Nijjar was a prominent Sikh separatist and activist campaigning for Khalistan, designated a terrorist by India. He was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in Surrey on June 18, 2023 [1, 2, 3]. His killing triggered a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged credible links between Indian government agents and the murder [1, 3].
The US indictment, however, made no allegations of Indian government involvement or knowledge of the assassination [1]. The charges are part of a broader case charging 37 defendants tied to the three India-based organized crime groups with racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, and murder [1, 2, 3]. Several fugitives linked to these groups remain at large in the US, India, and Europe [3].
Bill Essayli, US Attorney for the Central District of California, said the groups have "fuelled violence, fear and instability within the East Indian communities throughout California and abroad" [3].
US authorities unsealed the indictments on July 7 or 8, 2026, publicly linking Bishnoi and Brar to Nijjar’s killing and other crimes [1, 2, 3]. Investigations and searches for additional defendants connected to these crime rings continue across multiple countries [3].
