The US and Canada have said the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was ordered by a transnational criminal syndicate led by Lawrence Bishnoi (in photo) and his gang.
India gets a breather in Nijjar case; ‘Only facts should shape history', says Sanjay Verma
US-Canada probe Operation Hardball silent on Indian govt officials' links to killing; former envoy tells The Federal Ottawa should never have jumped the gun
The recent statements from America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding charges against Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 are significant.
What appears more significant at the moment is that the statements mention no links to any Government of India official or agency — an allegation earlier made by Canadian officials that triggered a massive diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi in 2023.
On Tuesday (July 7), following joint investigations on the death of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar — codenamed Operation Hardball — the US and Canada announced charges against Bishnoi and members of his gang. FBI and RCMP indicted them of carrying out targeted killings, shootings, extortion and narcotics trafficking across international borders, among others.
Diplomatic row
However, the investigation report did not mention any link of the murder to government of India officials or its agencies, which was initially the case when the matter came to light in 2023. Back then, unprecedented allegations were levelled against the government of India and its officials, including the then High Commissioner of Canada to India, Sanjay Verma. This had triggered a massive diplomatic row between the two nations.
In October 2024, the government had to recall Verma and other diplomatic staff from Ottawa, as they were labelled as “persons of interest” by the Canadian authorities in the Nijjar case.
Relations between India and Canada, then led by the Justin Trudeau government, plummeted to such an extent that both sides decided to downsize their respective diplomatic missions even as a series of retaliatory staff cuts and expulsions were carried out. India ordered Canada to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats and threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity if they remained past October 10, 2023.
While the silence of the American Department of Justice on the previously alleged role of Indian officials in the Nijjar killing may merely be a diplomatic manoeuvre, Verma sees the statements as a positive development.
Positive development
Speaking to The Federal, Verma said: “The latest public statements by the RCMP and the FBI invite reflection on one of the most consequential episodes in recent India-Canada relations. While identifying the alleged perpetrators, the statements do not attribute the crime to any government of India official or agency.”
The then Trudeau administration had alleged “credible allegations” of Indian government's involvement, which New Delhi strongly rejected as absurd. Verma was declared persona non grata (unwelcome person in diplomatic parlance) by Ottawa in October 2024. He became the first serving Indian envoy to have ever been declared so.
“The case triggered an unprecedented rupture in a relationship that had been patiently built over decades,” said Verma. “At the highest political level in Canada, allegations of Indian state involvement were made publicly before any evidentiary basis for such a grave charge was established. Those allegations quickly came to shape public perception, with profound diplomatic consequences.”
'Facts must shape history'
On June 18, 2023, Nijjar, 45, a prominent leader associated with the Khalistan movement and president of a gurdwara in Surrey, BC, was shot and killed by masked gunmen. As serious charges were levelled against the Indian government, New Delhi not only sought proper evidence from RCMP but also placed multiple extradition requests.
Verma says the Canadian actions had heavy repercussions, and wonders why they were taken before the investigation was completed. “As the investigation continues to evolve, it is reasonable to ask whether diplomatic measures of such consequence should have preceded the establishment of a publicly demonstrable evidentiary foundation,” he said. “Governments can restore diplomatic engagement; restoring reputations and rebuilding trust is far more difficult.”
India-Canada ties began to look up once the latter got a new government under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney paid a four-day visit to India in February-March this year, which substantially thawed the ice. Even earlier, Ottawa and Delhi resumed normal diplomatic ties by appointing High Commissioners.
“It is encouraging that India and Canada are once again engaging constructively,” said Verma. “If this difficult chapter leaves one enduring lesson, it is that relations between democratic partners must be guided by restraint, due process and evidence. Allegations may shape headlines. Only facts should shape history.”
The Federal has reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs for a response to the latest events. The copy will be updated when the response is received.
What happened in 2023?
The US and Canada on Tuesday said the 2023 assassination of Nijjar was ordered by a transnational criminal syndicate led by Bishnoi, a jailed Indian gangster, and his fugitive associate Goldy Brar.
“Law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and Europe have arrested 24 defendants — 11 of them in California — connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of criminal acts, including the assassination in Canada in 2023 of a prominent Indian political and religious figure,” the US Justice Department announced.
The year-long Operation Hardball investigation, conducted by the FBI and RCMP across the US, Canada and Spain, looked into “Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora”.
The FBI and RCMP announced several arrests and charges against the leaders of three global organised crime networks: Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. “These groups have been engaged in extortions, drug trafficking, kidnapping and widespread violence – namely the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – in Canada and the United States,” said the RCMP in its statement.
While Bishnoi continues to remain behind bars in India, search is on for others. He was designated as a “terrorist” by the Canadian government last September.
Role of police officer
The investigations have mentioned the alleged role played by Punjab police officer Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, who is believed to have assisted gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. Bhagwanpuria, 38, is a gangster from Punjab currently imprisoned in India. He is an associate-turned-rival of Bishnoi, and founded his own criminal enterprise, the FBI said.
The Punjab government has shifted Nagra, indicted for an extortion case, to police lines, considered to be punishment posting.
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