Lawrence Bishnoi, gang charged by US for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada
The DOJ said 37 defendants have been charged across three separate federal indictments involving organised crime groups with links to India.
- Jul 8, 2026,
- Updated Jul 8, 2026 9:03 AM IST
The United States has charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, placing Bishnoi at the centre of an FBI-led crackdown on transnational organised crime networks.
The charges were announced under Operation Hard Ball, a years-long investigation into criminal syndicates allegedly involved in murder, extortion, drug trafficking, weapons offences and other organised crime activities across multiple countries. The US Department of Justice said authorities executed more than 50 search warrants and arrested suspects in California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain.
The DOJ said 37 defendants have been charged across three separate federal indictments involving organised crime groups with links to India. Of them, 24 have been arrested, while 10 remain fugitives.
One of the indictments focused on Bishnoi, whom US prosecutors accused of directing a global criminal enterprise from prison in India. The indictment alleged that he used contraband mobile phones and internet-based communication devices to oversee political assassinations, murders, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking and human smuggling across multiple countries.
Prosecutors named Goldy Brar as the syndicate’s North American leader and Rohit Godara as the alleged overseer of operations in Europe. According to the indictment, both men helped coordinate the organisation’s activities outside India. US prosecutors also allege that the Bishnoi enterprise used violence to intimidate victims, particularly within Indian diaspora communities, while promoting its criminal reputation through social media and online posts.
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The DOJ further alleged that the network financed its operations through international cocaine trafficking and extortion. According to prosecutors, gang members threatened victims through encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, demanding millions of dollars and warning of violence against victims and their families. Investigators also alleged that the syndicate stole cocaine shipments from rival trafficking groups and coordinated narcotics smuggling between the United States and Canada.
The indictment alleged that Bishnoi and Brar ordered the assassination of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The killing sparked a major diplomatic row after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged links between Indian government agents and the murder, a claim New Delhi dismissed as absurd and motivated.
The United States has charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, placing Bishnoi at the centre of an FBI-led crackdown on transnational organised crime networks.
The charges were announced under Operation Hard Ball, a years-long investigation into criminal syndicates allegedly involved in murder, extortion, drug trafficking, weapons offences and other organised crime activities across multiple countries. The US Department of Justice said authorities executed more than 50 search warrants and arrested suspects in California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain.
The DOJ said 37 defendants have been charged across three separate federal indictments involving organised crime groups with links to India. Of them, 24 have been arrested, while 10 remain fugitives.
One of the indictments focused on Bishnoi, whom US prosecutors accused of directing a global criminal enterprise from prison in India. The indictment alleged that he used contraband mobile phones and internet-based communication devices to oversee political assassinations, murders, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking and human smuggling across multiple countries.
Prosecutors named Goldy Brar as the syndicate’s North American leader and Rohit Godara as the alleged overseer of operations in Europe. According to the indictment, both men helped coordinate the organisation’s activities outside India. US prosecutors also allege that the Bishnoi enterprise used violence to intimidate victims, particularly within Indian diaspora communities, while promoting its criminal reputation through social media and online posts.
DON'T MISS | India, Canada to reappoint high commissioners after year-long standoff over Nijjar row
The DOJ further alleged that the network financed its operations through international cocaine trafficking and extortion. According to prosecutors, gang members threatened victims through encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, demanding millions of dollars and warning of violence against victims and their families. Investigators also alleged that the syndicate stole cocaine shipments from rival trafficking groups and coordinated narcotics smuggling between the United States and Canada.
The indictment alleged that Bishnoi and Brar ordered the assassination of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The killing sparked a major diplomatic row after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged links between Indian government agents and the murder, a claim New Delhi dismissed as absurd and motivated.