US Charges Bishnoi in 2023 Nijjar Killing as 37 Defendants Face Global Crime Probe
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 8
US Charges Bishnoi in 2023 Nijjar Killing as 37 Defendants Face Global Crime Probe
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 8
Summary
US prosecutors said jailed gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi and associate Satinderjeet Singh orchestrated the 2023 shooting of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Canadian temple.
The indictment says Bishnoi ran the plot from an Indian jail using smuggled cellphones and supplied a co-conspirator with Nijjar’s photo and multiple addresses; Singh remains at large.
The Nijjar case sits inside a two-year operation spanning the US, Canada and Europe that charged 37 defendants tied to three Indian crime syndicates; authorities are still seeking 10 fugitives.
Officials say the networks also handled kidnappings, extortion, firearms dealing, drug trafficking and murder, with members operating across the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal.
Nijjar’s killing deepened a Canada-India rift after Ottawa alleged credible Indian government involvement, prompting mutual diplomatic expulsions amid long-running tensions over Khalistan activism.