US charges Indian crime leader in Sikh activist’s assassination

US charges Indian crime boss in Sikh activist's assassination

U.S. authorities have charged Lawrence Bishnoi, an Indian gangster imprisoned in India, and his alleged North American deputy Satinderjeet Singh with orchestrating the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The charges were announced as part of a sweeping international law enforcement operation that indicted 37 alleged members of three India-linked crime syndicates, according to multiple reports.

Nijjar, a well-known Sikh independence activist, was fatally shot outside a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, where he served as president, on June 18, 2023. His killing severely strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" that the Indian government was involved.

Coverage comparison

The indictment against Bishnoi and Singh was unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, according to reports from Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian, and The Hindu. The charges allege that Bishnoi, 33, directed the operation from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones and provided a co-conspirator with a photograph and multiple addresses of Nijjar to facilitate the killing. Singh, his childhood friend, has not been apprehended.

U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced the charges at a news conference, speaking alongside officials with the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The coordinated operation, named 'Operation Hardball,' involved law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and resulted in the arrest of 24 people, including 11 in California, one in Indiana, and one in Georgia, according to The Hindu. Authorities are still searching for seven fugitives in the U.S., two in India, and one in Europe, as reported by Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

The FBI's assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, Patrick Grandy, said the groups have "fuelled violence, fear and instability within the East Indian communities throughout California and abroad," as quoted by Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

Key claims

The indictment charges Bishnoi and Singh with orchestrating the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. It is part of a broader case against 37 defendants across three indictments, accused of kidnappings, racketeering, extortion, arms trafficking, drug smuggling, and murder. The charges also allege that two defendants ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India, according to Deutsche Welle and The Hindu.

The Bishnoi gang's activities have drawn international attention. Al Jazeera reported that the indictment describes Bishnoi's organization as targeting prominent religious, social, and political leaders with violence, though this detail was not carried by other sources in this report.

A senior Canadian police official, Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland of the RCMP, told CBC News that investigators found no evidence linking Indian government officials to Nijjar's murder. "There's no evidence to suggest through this organised crime investigation and the charges and the indictment laid forward that Indian officials were charged or involved," she said, as reported by The Hindu. Moreland also said the Indian government extended cooperation to the investigation.

This statement directly contradicts the allegations made by Trudeau in the weeks after Nijjar's killing, which New Delhi dismissed as "absurd" and "motivated." The Hindu reported that India later accused Ottawa of allowing pro-Khalistani elements to operate from Canadian soil, and in October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.

Perspectives

Canadian police: Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland stated that no evidence links Indian officials to Nijjar's murder, citing the organized crime investigation and the charges laid.

Indian government: New Delhi has consistently rejected Trudeau's allegations as "absurd and motivated," and has accused Canada of harboring pro-Khalistani elements.

U.S. authorities: The charges against Bishnoi and Singh are part of a broader effort to dismantle transnational crime syndicates, with U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli emphasizing international cooperation in targeting these organizations.