Canada Accuses Indian Agents of Using Lawrence Bishnoi for Extortion & Murder

Canadian police and PM Justin Trudeau held press conferences accusing India of criminal activities in Canada.

S Jaishankar again asks Canada to share evidence behind allegations that India had a role in Nijjar's killing.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Canada has expelled six Indian diplomats, accusing them of being part of a "network carrying out criminal activities" in the country. More specifically, Canada has alleged that "Indian agents" have actively used the Lawrence Bishnoi criminal group to carry out murder and extortion "against Canadian citizens on Canadian soil".

The accusations were made in two separate press conferences – first by the commissioners of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the second by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and two of his top ministers – foreign minister Melanie Joly and public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc.

What are the allegations against India?

Here are some key points made in the two press conferences in Canada.

'Indian Agents Involved in Criminal Activity': RCMP

RCMP is Canada's national police service. Here are some excerpts from the press conference by RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme and Assistant Commissioner Brigette Gauvin:

• "RCMP learned a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India."

• "Despite law enforcement's action, harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety. We reached a point where we felt it was imperative to confront the Government of India and inform the public about some very serious findings."

• "Earlier this week, RCMP made attempts to meet with the Indian law enforcement counterparts and present evidence pertaining to agents of the Government of India's involvement in serious criminal activity here in Canada. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful. Therefore, Deputy Commissioner met with officials of the Government of India alongside with the National Security Intelligence Advisor and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs over the weekend."

• "The RCMP has obtained evidence that demonstrates four very serious issues. One, violent extremists impacting both countries. Two, links tying agents of the government of India to homicides and violent acts. Three, the use of organized crime to create perception of unsafe environment targeting the South Asian community in Canada. And the fourth, interference in democratic processes."

Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official position to engage in clandestine activities such as collecting information for the government of India.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme

• "Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working with the Government of India."

• "The information collected by the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community. This evidence was presented directly to the Government of India officials."

• "Eight individuals have been arrested or charged in connection with homicides, 22 have been arrested or charged in connection with extortions. Some of them are related to govt of India."

• "We found there has been use of organised crime elements, one organised crime in particular, the Bishnoi group, and we believe that group is connected to agents of the Government of India."

• "We have warned 13 people of threats based on investigations. Some of them received multiple threats. They continue to happen. Main target is the South Asian community, specifically members of the pro-Khalistan movement."

• "Indian government has been participating in homicide, extortion, intimidation and coercion."

What PM Trudeau Said

• "RCMP have clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in and continue to engage in activities that pose a significant threat to public safety. This includes clandestine information-gathering techniques, coercive behavior targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder. This is unacceptable."

• "This weekend, Canadian officials took an extraordinary step. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities. And despite repeated requests to the Government of India, it has decided not to cooperate."

• "Minister Joly (Foreign Minister Melanie Joly) had only one choice. She issued orders that they must leave Canada. They will no longer be able to act as diplomats in Canada, or to enter Canada again, no matter the reason. Let me be clear. The evidence brought to light by the RCMP cannot be ignored."

• "We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil, a deeply unacceptable violation of Canada's sovereignty.

• I know the events of the past year and today's revelations have shaken many Canadians, particularly and Sikh community. Many of you are angry, upset, frightened. I get that. This shouldn't happen."

"Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official position to engage in clandestine activities such as collecting information for the government of India."

Justin Trudeau, Canadian PM

Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said, "We formally requested that India waive diplomatic immunity for six individuals based here in Canada and for India to cooperate in the investigation. Regrettably, as India did not agree and given the ongoing public safety concerns for Canadians, Canada served notices of expulsions to six diplomats and consular officials early this morning. Subsequent to those notices, India announced it would withdraw its officials.".

What's India's Response?

India has expelled six Canadian diplomats in response to Canada's move. Here are excerpts from India's statement:

• "The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics".

• "Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."

• "Prime Minister Trudeau’s cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard. That his government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters."

• "To that end, the Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders."

Questions India and Canada Must Answer

Ordering diplomats to leave is among the highest steps a government could have taken. Therefore, it is indeed a strong statement from Canada – and its allegations that Indian officials were involved in criminal offences is a very serious one.

Significantly, Canada has also said that it has briefed all its allies that are part of the Five Eyes grouping. This means that both the US and UK are in the loop on Canada's charges.

However, Canada has left some questions unanswered.

• For instance, it is yet to disclose how many offences are under investigation. It has mentioned "multiple homicides and cases of extortion", but it is yet to give a specific number.

• It has also said that this set of investigations weren't directly related to the Hardeep Singh Nijjar case. But it is yet to disclose which homicides it is talking about.

• One could possibly be the killing of alleged Khalistan activist Sukhdool Singh in Winnipeg in 2023. Bishnoi's gang did take responsibility for that in a Facebook post. However, the Canadian authorities didn't confirm if this was one of the cases they are referring to.

This also raises the question that if the investigations are still underway, then why did the Canadian government choose to hold a press conference at this juncture instead of waiting for it to conclude?

The explanation that RCMP gave in its press conference is that they decided to make their findings public to "disrupt networks" that could carry out more violence in Canada. But surely if they wanted to make allegations against another country, more details should have been provided at least on what are the specific cases for which the diplomats are being expelled.

There are many questions that India too needs to answer.

• For instance, how does Lawrence Bishnoi continue to carry out his criminal activities from jail in India? Surely, it involves some degree of collusion from authorities.

• Then, why was Sukhdool Singh killed soon after his name was released by the NIA as one of India's most wanted terrorists?

• Another question for India stems from the reports that it has arrested "CC1" or one of the alleged Indian intelligence officials that the US has accused of being involved in the failed plot to assassinate Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

• The arrest would mean a tacit admission of the US' allegations. So why isn't a similar cooperation being extended to Canada?

These matters are only bound to escalate with Bishnoi's name coming up in the recent killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai. If Bishnoi is indeed acting at R&AW's behest, as Canada claims, the Central government would have to answer many more questions regarding Bishnoi's crimes in India such as the killings of Sidhu Moose Wala, Baba Siddique, and Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi.