Prosecutors in LA announce charges against Indian syndicate "Bishnoi"

Federal prosecutors successful Los Angeles connected Tuesday announced transgression charges against the salient person and 8 associates of the Indian organized transgression radical known arsenic "Bishnoi," tying them to the 2023 assassination of a Sikh separatist person successful Canada.

The indictment accuses Lawrence Bishnoi and different suspect of ordering the sidesplitting of "H.S.N." — the evident initials for Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down connected June 18, 2023, adjacent a Sikh temple successful Surrey, British Columbia. 

Nijjar was a well-known governmental dissident who advocated for the instauration of a Sikh homeland successful bluish India that would beryllium known arsenic "Khalistan." India antecedently designated him a "terrorist" successful transportation with those advocacy efforts.

The indictment alleges that 2 different unnamed co-conspirators pulled the trigger that day, but that Bishnoi took work for the act.

"On November 25, 2023, suspect Bishnoi claimed work connected behalf of the 'Lawrence Bishnoi Group' for a shooting that occurred connected November 24, 2023 successful Vancouver, Canada astatine the residence of R.G., a salient Indian histrion and singer, successful an online station to Facebook that warned, successful Punjabi, 'no 1 tin prevention you from us,'" the indictment says.

Bishnoi was arrested by Indian authorities successful 2015. Despite this, the indictment says helium continued to tally a planetary transgression syndicate.

"Using contraband cellphones and different dependable implicit net protocol devices smuggled into his jailhouse cell, suspect Bishnoi personally directed governmental assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, cause trafficking, quality smuggling, and different crimes committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi OCG worldwide," the indictment says. 

He remains successful custody successful India.

Bishnoi's puerility friend, Satinderjit Singh Brar, allegedly directed the group's North American operations and is besides accused successful the indictment of ordering the assassination.

Shortly aft Nijjar was murdered successful 2023, different salient Sikh separatist and adjacent person of Nijjar named Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was targeted for assassination successful New York City, but the crippled was thwarted by the FBI.

Both Canadian and American instrumentality enforcement authorities aboriginal alleged that the assassination of Nijjar and attempted assassination of Pannun were ordered astatine the behest of the Indian government itself.

In February, an Indian nationalist named Nikhil Gupta pleaded blameworthy successful a national tribunal successful Manhattan to conspiring with erstwhile Indian authorities authoritative Vikash Yadav to termination Pannun. Yadav remains astatine large.

In the indictment unsealed connected Tuesday, Bishnoi, Singh Brar and 7 different defendants associated with Bishnoi's radical are facing a assortment of charges successful transportation with their alleged transgression endeavor — including racketeering, extortion and conspiracy to administer controlled substances.

Federal prosecutors besides announced transgression charges successful 2 different indictments related to organized transgression by Indian groups, including the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organized Crime Group and the Dhanda Drug Trafficking Organization.