US charges Indian crime boss Lawrence Bishnoi with ordering 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Federal prosecutors unsealed three indictments charging 37 defendants tied to India-based crime syndicates, including the imprisoned Lawrence Bishnoi, with orchestrating the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a British Columbia temple.
The operation
US authorities announced the arrest of 24 suspects across the United States, Canada and Europe on Tuesday, capping a years-long investigation into three Indian organised crime groups. The operation, code-named Hard Ball, involved the FBI, Los Angeles police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Customs and Border Protection. In total, 37 defendants face charges ranging from targeted killings and extortion to drug trafficking and firearms offences. Ten fugitives remain at large, including seven in the US, two in India and one in Europe.
- Hardeep Singh Nijjar shot dead outside Surrey gurdwara
- Four Indian nationals arrested and charged over the killing
- Canada lists Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity
- Extortion demands begin in California, including a $5m threat
- Victim's family falsely charged with homicide via corrupt Punjab officer
- US announces 24 arrests and 37 charged in Operation Hard Ball
The Nijjar assassination
Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, the imprisoned head of the Bishnoi gang, and his associate Satinderjeet "Goldy Brar" Singh, 32, are accused of ordering the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The 45-year-old Canadian citizen and prominent Khalistan activist was shot dead by two masked gunmen in the car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Prosecutors say Bishnoi directed the plot from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones, supplying a co-conspirator with a photograph and multiple addresses of Nijjar. Bishnoi has been in custody since 2015; Singh remains a fugitive.
There is no safe harbor for these thugs.
Extortion and drug network
Beyond the assassination, the indictments detail a sprawling extortion scheme targeting wealthy Indian immigrants in California. In one case, a defendant demanded $5 million from a victim in December and January. Another alleged member of the Bhagwanpuria group, Gurlal Singh, pressed a Los Angeles victim for $400,000 and, when refused, passed the victim's details to a corrupt Punjab police officer. The victim, his father and sister were then falsely charged with a January 2026 homicide. The syndicates also trafficked cocaine purchased from a Mexican cartel in cargo trucks from California to Canada. Law enforcement seized roughly 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms during the probe.
Diplomatic strain
The killing of Nijjar, a vocal advocate for an independent Sikh homeland, ignited a diplomatic row between Canada and India. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" of Indian government involvement. Canada later listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, enabling asset freezes. Four Indian nationals were arrested in 2024 over the murder and await trial.
These groups have fuelled violence, fear and instability within the East Indian communities throughout California and abroad.
