No Proof Against Indian Officials In Nijjar Murder, Say Canadian Police As US Indicts Lawrence Bishnoi
Nearly three years after then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential link between Indian government agents and the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian Police have said their investigation has found no evidence that Indian officials were involved or charged in the murder.
The clarification came as the United States unsealed an indictment naming jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associate Goldy Brar as the alleged masterminds behind the 2023 assassination, with no allegations against the Indian government.
During a media briefing following the joint US-Canada operation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said investigators had not found evidence that Indian officials were charged or involved in the Nijjar murder investigation, even as authorities announced major arrests and indictments targeting organised crime groups.
The RCMP’s statement accompanied the announcement of Operation Hard Ball, a coordinated investigation with the FBI targeting the Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria criminal networks, which Canadian police said were responsible for extortion, drug trafficking, kidnappings and violent crimes, including Nijjar’s killing.
Contrast With Trudeau’s 2023 Allegations
The development comes nearly three years after Trudeau told Parliament there were “credible allegations” linking agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s killing, triggering a sharp diplomatic confrontation with New Delhi.
India rejected the allegations from the outset, calling them “absurd” and repeatedly asking Ottawa to provide evidence supporting its claims.
The fallout triggered a series of retaliatory diplomatic measures, including the expulsion of senior diplomats by both countries, a sharp reduction in diplomatic staffing, suspension of visa services for Canadian citizens for a period, the freezing of trade negotiations, and repeated exchanges of accusations over alleged interference and extremism. Bilateral relations remained strained for nearly two years before both sides began cautiously re-engaging under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
US Indictment Names Lawrence Bishnoi Gang
Instead, American prosecutors allege that Lawrence Bishnoi directed the operation from his prison cell in India using smuggled mobile phones, while Brar coordinated the conspiracy in North America.
According to the indictment, Bishnoi provided photographs and addresses of Nijjar to facilitate the assassination, which took place outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
The charges form part of a broader case against 37 defendants linked to three Indian-origin organised crime syndicates accused of murder, extortion, narcotics trafficking and weapons smuggling across Canada, the United States and several other countries.
A separate seven-count indictment focuses on a distinct transnational network founded by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, a former associate turned rival of Bishnoi, who is also currently incarcerated in an Indian facility. The Bhagwanpuria gang, estimated to command over 1,000 global associates, allegedly engaged in broad-scale narcotics transport, weapons dealing, and murder-for-hire schemes. Federal prosecutors allege the network expanded its reach by generating fraudulent information to manipulate local law enforcement processes abroad, using false accusations to trigger extortion plots against perceived rivals and their families living as far apart as Punjab and Ohio.
The third indictment targets a massive commercial logistics network responsible for smuggling hundreds of kilograms of high-purity cocaine and methamphetamine across the international border each week. Led by Vancouver-based Ravinder Singh Dhanda, the drug distribution ring allegedly negotiated complex transit logistics with major North American cartels, using long-haul semi-trucks and commercial agricultural vehicles to move narcotics from Southern California hubs into Canada. As part of the synchronised global raids, tactical teams searched multiple Canadian properties, including a residence belonging to a relative of Dhanda on Cliff Avenue.
