US charges Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar for ordering 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada

The killing of Nijjar soured bilateral relations between India and Canada as then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to link the government in New Delhi to the murder.

Published - July 08, 2026 06:21 am IST - Washington

PTI

The United States has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in November 2023.

According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar — identified as "H.S.N." in court documents — outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, three years ago.

Coordinated Action: 'Operation Hardball'

In a coordinated action named "Operation Hardball," law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Canada, and Europe arrested 24 individuals — 11 of them in California — connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups. These groups were charged with a litany of criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination.

"Working together, law enforcement in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organizations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbor for these thugs," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli during a news conference in Los Angeles.

Diplomatic Fallout

The killing of Nijjar soured bilateral relations between India and Canada, as then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to link the government in New Delhi to the murder. India rejected the claims as "absurd and motivated."

The current action is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in:

• Racketeering
• Targeted killings
• Shootings
• Extortion
• Trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders
• Other crimes around the world, with impacts especially felt in the Indian diaspora

Charges and Arrests

In total, 37 defendants — including two who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India — were charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday.

Arrests in the United States:

• 11 in California
• 1 in Indiana
• 1 in Georgia

These individuals are expected to make their initial appearances in federal court today.

Other arrests:

• 3 defendants arrested in Canada
• 1 defendant arrested in Spain
• 7 defendants already in custody

Fugitives still at large:

• 7 in the United States
• 2 in India
• 1 in Europe

Bishnoi is already in jail in India, while his aide Goldy Brar remains at large.

Official Statements

"Today's coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorised families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the US and abroad," said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme stated that the agencies disrupted the operations of "organized criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States."

"We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done – we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, in the United States, and around the world," Duheme added.

Published - July 08, 2026 06:21 am IST