Lawrence Bishnoi Gang

What it is: The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is a crime network based mainly in north India, with a presence in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. Lawrence Bishnoi, born in 1993 in Fazilka district, studied at Panjab University in Chandigarh, and the RCMP says the gang grew out of intimidation in Punjab student politics. He has been in prison in India since 2015 and, the RCMP says, reportedly kept running the gang from jail. He has denied the allegations against him (Wikipedia). Goldy Brar (Satinderjeet Singh), who is based abroad, is believed to have taken over much of its activity. The RCMP’s assessment puts the gang at about 700 members and says it is driven by money, not politics or religion, through extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering and contract killings. What follows is what police, prosecutors and officials have said; no court finding on these charges has been reported.

Its part in this history

• 29 May 2022: the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead in Mansa. On 8 June 2022 Delhi Police said Bishnoi was the mastermind, that he had told them Goldy Brar was among those who carried it out, and that he linked his rivalry with Moosewala to the August 2021 killing of the Akali Dal youth leader Vicky Middukhera (The Tribune).
• 14 October 2024: RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme and Deputy Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin said they believed the gang was connected to agents of the Government of India who target pro-Khalistani figures in Canada. India rejected this (Wikipedia).
• 29 September 2025: Canada listed the Bishnoi Gang as a “terrorist entity” under its Criminal Code. Public Safety Canada called it a transnational criminal organisation based mainly in India, with a presence in Canada, linked to murder, shootings, arson and extortion. Its statement does not say that India directs the gang.
• 12 January 2026: an undated RCMP assessment, released to Global News under access to information law, described the gang as “allegedly acting on behalf of the Indian government.” The Indian High Commission did not respond to Global News.
• 7 July 2026: a US federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles accused Bishnoi of ordering the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara on 18 June 2023, and charged Brar with racketeering, extortion and drug conspiracies. The FBI offered $50,000 for Brar, who is at large. The wider case, Operation Hardball, covers 37 defendants, 24 of them arrested. The indictment does not allege a role by the Indian government. RCMP Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland told CBC that the Nijjar investigation found no evidence that Indian officials were involved and that India cooperated.

Where it stands today

Bishnoi is in custody in India and the US case against him and Brar is pending. The Indian government rejects the RCMP’s earlier allegation about its agents.