Who is Lawrence Bishnoi? How a notorious crime boss got caught up in Canada-India dispute

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As diplomatic relations fray between India and Canada over the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader, the spotlight is now turning to one of the South Asian nation’s most notorious gangsters.Canadian police earlier this month accused Lawrence Bishnoi of colluding with Indian government agents to kill and harass members of the Canadian Sikh diaspora. That comes in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations last year that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen – claims that India has strongly denied. Trudeau’s government has upped the stakes in recent weeks, expelling India’s top diplomat in Canada after he refused to be questioned about the case.Bishnoi’s alleged involvement highlights what Canada says is the long arm of India’s criminal underworld and its capacity to carry out violence far from home. Bishnoi, in his early 30s, heads “one of the most feared terror syndicates” in South Asia, according to India’s federal anti-terrorism body. His gang, described in Indian court filings, numbers around 700 and includes suspected militants and drug runners in Canada, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.Trudeau’s government says Bishnoi coordinated with Indian officials to target dissidents overseas, specifically Sikh activists living in Canada who support the creation of an ethno-religious homeland in India called Khalistan. Canada had been investigating India’s government involvement in the gunning down last year of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian separatist activist who is considered a terrorist by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Delhi has repeatedly dismissed allegations that officials were involved in the attack.In the past, Bishnoi has been linked with Sikh militant groups, an irony considering he’s now accused of targeting Canadians campaigning for Khalistan. He and his gang have had strong connections with Sikh separatist elements, some of who operate from Pakistan, court documents show. India’s federal anti-terror body also alleged that Bishnoi and his associates were involved in the 2016 jailbreak of a suspected Khalistani separatist and that they attacked a police facility in 2022 in the northern Punjab state with sophisticated weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades.Police stand guard outside a court in Amritsar where Bishnoi faced questioning in 2022. Photo: AFP Bishnoi has spent about a decade behind bars in India, convicted for several crimes stretching back to as early as 2010, when he was charged for trespassing with the intent of assault with weapons, according to court documents.

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