USA to extradite “Indian nationalist” gangster for Canadian Sikh leader assassination

A US government-led “international crackdown” on the Bishnoi gang Indian terror outfit will see “nationalist” head Lawrence Bishnoi face extradition for the 2023 assassination of Canadian Sikh leader, Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Dozens of arrests made in the USA, Canada and across wider Europe were the result of a US government RICO operation -called Operation Hardball- on the Bishnoi gang. The 2023 Surrey (BC, Canada) shooting of Nijjar is included within the case against the Indian criminal network.

Nijjar -then President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Surrey- was targeted for being a Khalistani (free Sikh homeland movement) leader. 37-people currently face charges because of the operation, whilst dozens more also remain wanted.

Bishnoi has long been held up as a symbol of India’s criminal street enforcement of Indian nationalism, with the group usually targeting those labeled “anti-national”, such as Sikh supporters of Khalistan or those who have been critical of India’s nationalist regime. Hindu mobs in Canada have even been videoed chanting for the Bishnoi gang, before the group were officially labelled a terror outfit in the country in 2025. Prior to this, Canadian authorities also declared the Bishnoi network is a proxy of the Indian government. However, the role the Indian government plays in directing the Bishnoi gang is not part of the indictment from the USA, something which Sikh groups have raised concerns about.

The case by the US government against the Bishnoi gang does cite various extortion attempts against Sikh families, including at least one which was facilitated by a senior Punjab Police officer, who threatened to put false murder charges on Punjab-based family of one USA target, unless they paid Bishnoi gang thugs. The US government exposing Punjab Police as part of the Bishnoi network is not the first time such a thing has come to light, as previously covered by Sikh PA. An arrest for Station House Officer Gurinderjit Singh Nagra of Tanda Police Station is believed to be part of the arrests within Operation Hardball.

The FBI, Los Angeles police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Customs and Border officials participated in the investigation, which also revealed a narco-trafficking branch of the Bishnoi gang. Ironically, Hindutva propagandists often push a completely unverified claim that Khalistanis (free Sikh homeland activists) are running trafficking networks across the globe. The allegation is becoming a very obvious projective claim, as various figures linked to the Bishnoi network have been revealed as traffickers, including Nikhil Gupta, the man in an American jail for attempting to have New York lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun killed the same week Nijjar was hit.

Whilst no timeline for Bishnoi’s extradition exists yet, as the process unfolds Sikh groups will continue efforts to have the issue looked at beyond the street-level violence, and have the true threat of India’s Hindutva (Hindu extremist) regime exposed.

Sikh communities will also be hoping that the arrests settle issues such as the extortion violence crisis in Canada, which is mostly targeting Sikhs.