The RCMP report says the Bishnoi gang is ‘representing’ the Indian government
An Indian gang accused of extorting and murdering for employment in Canada was “working for the Indian government,” according to an RCMP document obtained by Global News.
In the report on Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, the RCMP’s national security unit raised the gang’s alleged ties to the Indian government twenty-two times in just three pages.
Distributed internally last year, the document is a classified examination of the growth of the Bishnoi gang in Canada. A copy was released to Global News on Monday under the Access to Information Act.
“The Bishnoi Crime Group is a violent criminal organization and is constantly expanding in several countries, including Canada,” according to the report.
Driven by selfishness rather than political or religious motives, the Bishnoi gang engages in extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering and contract killings, the RCMP noted.
“The Bishnoi Crime Group is known to use violence to further its criminal enterprise, acting on behalf of the Indian government,” said the forum, labeled “Protected A.”
The report is undated but refers to BC Premier David Eby’s June 17, 2025 statement asking the government to list the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organization.
It was released by the RCMP on the same day Eby began the Jan. 12-17 to India. Prime Minister Mark Carney is reportedly planning to visit India later this year.
The official crackdown is part of a broader effort to diversify Canada’s trade relationship and reduce the inflexible tariff regime led by US President Donald Trump.
RCMP report on the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its alleged ties to the Indian government.
World News
Organizations representing Canadian Sikhs, who are the main victims of India’s alleged campaign of violence, have opposed efforts to deepen ties with India.
They accused politicians of betraying them by prioritizing improved trade over holding India accountable for its murderous plots against South Asian Canadians.
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“The RCMP and the Canadian government are well aware that the Bishnoi gang is working with the Indian government to target Canadians,” said Balpreet Singh, spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
“But for political convenience, this fact is downplayed and hidden,” he said.
“It is deeply troubling that the Canadian government appears willing to ignore India’s ongoing campaign of international repression and its links with the Bishnoi gang for the safety and security of Canadians.”
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment. And neither did Carney’s office. Carney previously said that the justice system is dealing with incidents of violence.
The BC premier’s office referred to Eby’s comments last week that the “criminal process” was ongoing and that the federal government had engaged with India on “issues of shared concern.”
“Our rightful role, as a sub-national government, as a province, is to ensure that we take care of BCers, and at a time of opportunity and warm relations with India, to ensure that we benefit from that, to bring jobs to BCers, and, especially, in the sectors that are most affected by Trump’s costs, such as the softwood industry,” he said.
Concerns about India’s involvement in violence in Canada made headlines following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh temple leader, who was shot in Surrey, BC, on June 18, 2023.
Nijjar was the leader of the Khalistan movement seeking independence for India’s Sikh-Majority Punjab region. India called him a “terrorist” and pressured Canada to arrest him.
Three months after his assassination, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that Canadian authorities were investigating the possible role of Indian government agents.
Four suspected gunmen were arrested in May 2024. Global News reported that Canada received intercepted communications linking senior Indian officials to Nijjar’s murder.
On October 14, 2024, RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme again warned that the investigation had linked Indian officials to cases of violence in Canada.
Canada has expelled six Indian diplomats and officials in protest. But since becoming prime minister, Carney has restored diplomatic ties and said he wants a trade deal with Modi.
Amid increasing incidents of looting and shootings, the Canadian government added the Bishnoi gang to the list of terrorist groups last September. The list does not say anything about the Indian government.
But the RCMP report, prepared to “provide situational awareness of the Lawrence Bishnoi Crime Group” and its “key individuals,” makes repeated references to India’s encounters with the gang.
According to the report, the Bishnoi gang started by using intimidation in student politics in Punjab, India and grew to include around 700 members in several states of India.
“The group’s reach now extends to North America, Europe and the Gulf States, and other areas with significant Punjabi communities,” the RCMP wrote.
Although its leader, Lawrence Bishnoi, has been imprisoned in India since 2015, “he reportedly continued to run his organization while in prison,” she said.
“Goldy Brar, who is believed to be one of Bishnoi’s closest associates, is believed to be the one who took over the reins of the Bishnoi Crime Group,” the report added. Brar’s real name is Satinderjeet Singh.
The report reiterates the RCMP’s allegations that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s murder. It also claimed that the Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the murder of another pro-Khalistan activist in Manitoba.
Sukhdool Singh was killed in Winnipeg in September 2023. Like Nijjar, the Indian government labeled him a terrorist, the RCMP report said. He was also a member of the Bambiha gang, Bishnoi’s rival, he said.
“RCMP say Indian government agents are using ‘organized crime groups like the Bishnoi group’ to target pro-Khalistan leaders in Canada.
Moninder Sikh of the Sikh Federation Canada, which was founded to reverse India’s alleged illegal activities in the country, said the government’s policies put Canadians at risk.
“The federal government and the BC government are putting people’s lives at risk by signing trade deals with a country like India that has not been accountable or shown remorse for their interference in other countries,” he said.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
