India and Canada expelled six of each other’s diplomats in tit-for-tat moves after Ottawa accused Indian government agents of links to the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which is investigating the case that prompted Monday’s severing of ties, has accused Indian government agents of association with an organized crime group called the “Bishnoi Group.”
The National Investigation Agency, India’s top investigative body, describes the group as a criminal gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose lawyer says he is contesting more than 40 cases accusing him of crimes such as murder and extortion, and many trials have yet to begin.
India did not respond to accusations of links between government officials and the Bishnoi group. The Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Reuters inquiry for comment.
India had previously rejected all Canadian accusations over the murder, calling them “preposterous.”
Below are key facts about Bishnoi and his associates.
The NIA accused the 31-year-old law graduate, who has been imprisoned since 2015, of running a transnational criminal gang.
Born in the northern state of Punjab, Bishnoi is short and thin, and sports a beard and mustache when he appears in public in court.
The NIA said in its statements that he runs his syndicate from prisons in various states, as well as countries such as Canada, through partners who were in contact with “pro-Khalistani” elements in neighboring Nepal and other countries.
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However, Bishnoi said he opposed Khalistan, or the demand for an independent state for Sikhs, and was not “anti-national”, in an interview with a private news channel last year.
The video of the interview has since been removed, and police are investigating how the video came to be.
Bishnoi is an inmate of Sabarmati Central Prison in the western industrial city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state. The media said that he was transferred between different prisons out of concern for his safety and his ability to violate prison rules.
What has Canada accused him of?
Canada did not mention specific charges, but the RCMP said there was “specific targeting” of those who support Khalistan in the country.
The Bishnoi Organized Criminal Group stated that it had previously claimed responsibility for some of these acts, and accused it of association with Indian agents.
Are there other cases against him?
Bishnoi and his companions face several charges related to murder, extortion and terrorism.
The NIA said it wanted to unleash a wave of terrorism through targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, film stars, singers and businessmen.
Some of the notable cases include the 2022 murder of popular Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, which the NIA placed on the doorstep of Bishnoi’s associates.
Media said that police, who arrested more than 20 people, identified Bishnoi as the main suspect.
In a video clip published by media channels, Bishnoi threatened to kill actor Salman Khan, an icon of the Indian film industry, in 2018. Shots were fired near Khan’s home this year. But Bishnoi did not comment on the matter.
Police arrested two gunmen for the attack, which they later said was carried out at the request of the Bishnoi group.
On Saturday, gunmen in the commercial capital, Mumbai, shot dead a lawmaker named Baba Siddique before fleeing.
A person claiming to belong to the Bishnoi community claimed responsibility for the killing in a Facebook post. Police officials have since told the media that Bishnoi was behind the plot, without providing evidence.
What is Bishnoi’s position?
Bishnoi’s lawyer, Rajani, who uses only one name, said he faces about 40 cases of murder, extortion and terrorism-related charges, dating back to 2012, across India.
She added that he has appealed the charges, and trials in many of these cases have not yet begun.
(Reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
