Lagatar24 Desk
Los Angeles: The United States on Tuesday formally charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, with orchestrating the June 2023 assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, as part of a coordinated international crackdown on transnational organised crime networks linked to India.
Federal Indictment Links Duo to Nijjar’s Assassination
According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles, Bishnoi and Brar ordered Nijjar’s killing outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, three years ago. The charges were announced alongside a coordinated operation by law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe targeting three alleged India-based transnational organised crime groups. Authorities arrested 24 individuals, 11 of them in California, on charges including Nijjar’s murder, racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking and targeted killings. First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said law enforcement across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia remain committed to dismantling these criminal organisations wherever they operate, stating there would be no safe harbour for such individuals.
37 Defendants Charged, USD 50,000 Bounty Announced for Goldy Brar
In total, 37 defendants were charged across three separate indictments unsealed on Tuesday, including Bishnoi and another alleged crime boss accused of directing criminal networks from inside an Indian prison. The FBI additionally announced a reward of up to USD 50,000 for information leading to Goldy Brar’s arrest, describing him as the alleged head of the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group in North America, wanted in connection with violent crimes across Southern California, the wider United States and Canada. The agency noted that Brar has known ties to Sacramento and Fresno in California, as well as Canada, India and Mexico.
Arrests Made Across Multiple Countries, Search for Fugitives Continues
Of those arrested, 13 were taken into custody in the United States, 11 in California, one in Indiana and one in Georgia, while three were arrested in Canada and one in Spain; seven others were already in custody. Authorities are continuing to search for 10 remaining fugitives, seven believed to be in the United States, two in India and one in Europe. Bishnoi remains incarcerated in India, while Brar is still at large. Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said the coordinated operation struck at the core of three brutal transnational organisations responsible for terrorising families and communities through violent acts in the US and abroad. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme added that the operation dismantled criminal networks that relied on murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people across Canada and the United States, affirming that efforts to preserve public safety would continue without pause.
