After Canada designated Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, Sikh rights group urges Ottawa to identify links with India

After years of allegedly carrying out criminal operations in Canada, including shootings and extortion, the federal government this week listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.

The organized criminal network is led by Lawrence Bishnoi who has been jailed in India for more than a decade and allegedly controls his illicit enterprise from behind bars under the protection of the Indian government.

According to the Public Safety Canada list of terrorist entities, “The Bishnoi Gang is a transnational criminal organization operating primarily out of India. They have a presence in Canada, and are active in areas with significant diaspora communities. The Bishnoi Gang generates terror in the communities in which they operate through their involvement in extortions and intimidation. The Bishnoi Gang also engages in murder, shootings and arson. The Bishnoi Gang creates a climate of insecurity for Canadians in diaspora communities as it targets them, their prominent community members, their businesses, as well as cultural figures within the community.”

The description and the name of the group were added to the terrorist watch list on Monday, September 29.

Under the designation, authorities can freeze assets and seize property owned or controlled by the group in Canada, including cash, vehicles and real estate, and can lay terror-financing and facilitation charges against those who knowingly deal with the group or its assets.

"Every person in Canada has the right to feel safe in their home and community, and as a government, it is our fundamental responsibility to protect them," Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said.

"Specific communities have been targeted for terror, violence, and intimidation by the Bishnoi Gang. Listing this group of criminal terrorists gives us more powerful and effective tools to confront and put a stop to their crimes.”

The Ottawa-based World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada said in a press release Monday that it “welcomes the listing of the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity by the Government of Canada,” but it wants federal officials to go directly after the government it believes is responsible for the gang’s campaign of violence against Sikhs in this country. 

“The WSO now calls on the Government of Canada to expose and sanction those Indian officials who have directed, financed, or facilitated this gang.

“Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have linked the Bishnoi gang to assassinations, extortions, and intimidation carried out at the direction of agents of the Government of India including the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other violent crimes.  

“According to Global News, an agent of the Government of India with ties to the Bishnoi gang was found to be surveilling former federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. The threat posed by this operation was deemed a credible risk to Jagmeet Singh’s life and prompted a duty to warn and police protection.” 

The WSO pointed out that Canada’s National Security Adviser, Nathalie Drouin, has provided testimony regarding the Indian government’s collection of detailed information about Sikh Canadians which was then handed over to Indian authorities working with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. 

“The Bishnoi Gang has engaged in a spree of crime across Canada including murders, extortions and shootings, including the May 14, 2025 murder of a Sikh businessman in Mississauga and the shooting of the Kap’s Café in Surrey.” 

WSO President Danish Singh said, “The evidence is clear- the Bishnoi Gang has operated at the direction of the Government of India. Those Indian officials who have directed, financed, or facilitated this gang must also be exposed, sanctioned, and punished.”

In October last year the RCMP’s two highest ranking officers released explosive information regarding evidence that the Bishnoi gang carried out violent acts in Canada as part of its work for the Indian government.

“We reached a point where we felt it was imperative to confront the government of India,” RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said during a bombshell press conference when India’s involvement in organized crime targeting Sikh Canadians was outlined by the top brass of the Mounties.

“Links tying agents of the government of India to homicides and violent acts” and “the use of organized crime to create perception of unsafe environment targeting the South Asian community in Canada (specifically Sikhs advocating for more autonomy in India)” had been uncovered by the RCMP, Duheme announced. 

“Over the past few years, and more recently, law enforcement agencies in Canada, including the RCMP, have successfully investigated and charged a significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions, and other criminal acts of violence,” senior RCMP officials revealed.

“In addition, there have been well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life, which have led to the conduct of Duty to Warn by law enforcement with members of the South Asian community, and specifically members of the pro-Khalistan movement (which calls for Sikh autonomy and political protection in India).”

BJP leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been accused of directing violence against North American Sikhs.

(WikiMedia Commons)

The RCMP revealed the Indian government’s ties to Lawrence Bishnoi, a well-known Indian organized crime leader who has been in jail since 2014. Commissioner Duheme, who, alongside Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin, said the “Bishnoi gang” has connections to the Indian government and is involved in criminal acts, including alleged illicit activities against Sikh activists.

“I won’t be providing any further details in regard to the specificity of those investigations, but what we have seen from an RCMP perspective is the use of organized crime elements,” Gauvin detailed. “And I will say… It’s been publicly attributed and claimed by one organized crime group in particular, which is the Bishnoi group.”

“That’s what we are seeing here in Canada, and we believe that that group is connected to agents of the government of India.”

Now that the gang has been listed as a terrorist entity by the Canadian government, anyone working with the group is subject to increased law enforcement powers.

“A terrorist listing means anything owned by that group in Canada, property, vehicles, money can be frozen or seized and gives Canadian law enforcement more tools to prosecute terrorist offences, including those related to financing, travel and recruitment,” the government highlighted in a press release Monday. “For example, it is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group. It is also an offence to directly or indirectly provide property knowing that it will be used by or benefit a terrorist group. The Criminal Code listing can also be used by immigration and border officials to inform decisions on admissibility to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”

Last week, in a press release from the WSO, the organization accused the Indian government of spreading disinformation regarding a September 18 meeting between Drouin and India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, framing it as a bilateral talk focussed on trade, counter-terrorism and security cooperation. 

The WSO’s position, supported by limited information released about the meeting by federal officials, is that the focus was on India’s alleged ties to criminal activities targeting Canadians on Canadian soil, specifically Sikh-Canadians and the community in general.

Danish Singh said the Indian government is once again misleading the international community, and the talks were clearly about “Canada’s repeated concerns over Indian interference, extrajudicial activities, and the threats faced by Canadian Sikhs on Canadian soil,” rather than trade or any routine bilateral cooperation.

He alleged the Indian government, through the Bishnoi gang, “continues to wreak havoc across Canada with extortions, murders, and shootings,” and urged Ottawa to not only designate the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity but also stressed sanctions against those in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are directing, financing and facilitating the criminal activities in Canada.

In more stunning testimony before a parliamentary committee last October, Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, David Morrison, gave evidence that he had provided the Washington Post information that linked Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man, to the violent campaign against North American Sikhs.

Morrison testified that, “The (Post) journalist called me and asked if [Shah] was that person [linked to the violent campaign]. I confirmed it was that person.”

It remains unclear what steps the federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has taken to obtain further evidence from the Indian government regarding the assassination of Mr. Nijjar outside a Surrey, B.C. Gurdwara in 2023. The BJP government has denied any involvement.

The U.S. Department of Justice released unsealed indictments that implicate the Indian government in Nijjar’s killing and a foiled plot to assassinate U.S.-Canadian citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the same global referendum movement Nijjar helped spearhead in Canada, advocating for a separate Sikh nation.

Sikh rights activist and dual Canadian-American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was the target of an assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by the Indian government.

(Supplied)

The Bishnoi gang has also been directly implicated in various criminal cases involving violence against Sikh Canadians across the country.

Lawrence Bishnoi has been behind bars since 2014 in Ahmedabad, India, Modi’s hometown. Bishnoi is facing dozens of charges and has been accused by police in India of orchestrating high-profile murders, including the killings of a prominent politician and famous Punjabi-Canadian singer and rapper, Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moose Wala. Bishnoi, while behind bars, has also allegedly threatened to murder one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Salman Khan. 

The RCMP’s Gauvin last year said, “we believe that [the Bishnoi] group is connected to agents of the government of India.”

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the WSO, told The Pointer that putting the Bishnoi gang on the terrorist watch list is an initial step.

"It's definitely a step forward, but it is just the first step," he said.

"So, according to the RCMP and the Canadian government, the Bishnoi gang is linked to the government of India. So we're interested in finding out who the individuals are in the government of India who are directing, financing and otherwise guiding the Bishnoi gang… So we've heard the name Amit Shah, and we've heard other names, but for us, it's important that those individuals are also identified and sanctioned by the Government of Canada."

Singh worries the new federal government will prioritize economic ties with India rather than confronting the alleged state-sponsored terrorism New Delhi is directing in Canada against Canadians.

“The statement that the government of Canada released didn't mention the government of India's involvement at all, the fact that this is a gang that is linked to a foreign government," he said.

"So, looking at the way the current government and Prime Minister Carney have been dealing with India, it seems as though the ongoing transnational oppression isn't a priority. For them, building trade ties is more important. But for us, the sovereignty and safety of Canadians should be more important."

He highlighted the characterization by India of the recent national security meeting between high-ranking officials from both countries as an example of India’s efforts to focus on economic issues to distract and mislead the international community regarding transnational criminal activities New Delhi is allegedly involved in.

India’s disinformation campaign is often carried out using the country’s media. In January, The Pointer documented reporting by several Indian media platforms, including some of the largest broadcast and newspaper outlets, falsely claiming that all four men charged in Nijjar’s killing case were freed due to a lack of evidence, spinning wildly false claims about shortcomings in Canada’s criminal justice system. The RCMP later confirmed the accused remain in custody.

“Civil society organizations expressed concern that pro-government business interests buying stakes in media organizations could compromise media independence,” the U.S. State Department reported last year. 

Global Affairs Canada warned last year that "Modi-aligned" media outlets in India were spreading narratives to discredit the Canadian government, while evidence of the BJP’s involvement in the plot to kill Canadians mounted.

Despite the evidence, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has remained silent about the involvement of Modi’s government. Brown has called Modi his big brother, has quietly met with BJP officials in India and credits Modi and his BJP associates with helping Brown win the Ontario PC leadership race. 

The Pointer asked Brown if he would like to see the federal government take more action against Modi’s government to ensure the protection of Brampton’s Sikh community, one of the largest in the world outside India. Brown was also asked why he has spoken out against the Bishnoi group but has refused to even mention Modi’s government or acknowledge any of the evidence that directly ties the BJP to the criminal network. Brown did not respond.  

Inderjeet Singh Gosal, a Brampton resident and Sikh rights advocate, was recently told by the RCMP, under its duty to warn protocol, that his life is in imminent danger due to efforts to target Sikh leaders in Canada. 

The threat to his life is so dire, the RCMP tried to convince Gosal that drastic steps need to be taken, which he declined to take. 

“They officially asked me, ‘It's gone to a whole other level now, the only way we can protect you is if you go into witness protection.’” 

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