US charges Indian criminal gang leader with organising murder of Canadian Sikh activist

US authorities have announced charges against the leader of an Indian criminal group in connection with the political assassination of a prominent Sikh activist in Canada – a high-profile killing that strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India at the time.Lawrence Bishnoi – the imprisoned head of an Indian criminal gang - and his childhood friend Satinderjeet Singh, are accused of orchestrating the assassination of a well-known Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot outside a temple where he served as president in 2023. Bishnoi is in custody, but Singh has not been apprehended.The indictment says Bishnoi directed the operation from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones and provided a co-conspirator with a photograph and multiple ⁠addresses of Nijjar’s to facilitate the killing.The charges were part of a massive law enforcement operation involving agencies across the US, Canada and Europe that swept up 37 defendants who are allegedly a part of three Indian international crime syndicates tied to kidnappings, racketeering, extortion, firearms dealing, drug trafficking and murder, US attorney Bill Essayli announced at a news conference on Tuesday.He spoke alongside officials with the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Authorities are still searching for seven fugitives in the US, two in India and one in Europe.The groups have “have fuelled violence, fear and instability within the East Indian communities throughout California and abroad,” said Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.The killing of Nijjar sparked tensions between the Canadian and Indian governments, after then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said that there were “credible allegations” that the Indian government was involved in Nijar’s death.Protesters gather outside the Consulate General of India Office during a protest over the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. Photograph: Canadian Press/ShutterstockNijjar, 45 when he died, was a prominent member of a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, and he was organising an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora with the organisation Sikhs For Justice. Nijjar, who was born in India and was a Canadian citizen, was wanted by Indian authorities at the time of his death. The authorities had offered a reward for information leading to his arrest.Sikh diaspora activism has been a source of tension between India and Canada for years. Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside India, and India has repeatedly accused it of tolerating “terrorists and extremists.” Both India and Canada expelled diplomats from the other country amid the international dispute.Authorities also named two other criminal organisations that were swept up for similar charges over the course of the two-year investigation. The transnational organisations have members in countries ranging from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Members of the group are also accused of stealing large quantities of drugs from other criminal organisations operating in California, and then selling the illicit merchandise across the country and into Canada.The indictments say that some defendants leveraged relationships with corrupt local authorities in India to persecute rivals or those who were believed to be cooperating with law enforcement. At least one defendant is accused of organising criminal activities while detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, authorities said Tuesday, though it is not clear how he was able to communicate without being detected.An attorney for Bishnoi was not listed on Tuesday afternoon.