&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Lawrence Bishnoi? Canada designates Bishnoi gang as terrorist entity")
Canada has formally designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, citing its record of using murder, shootings, and arson to extort and intimidate diaspora communities. The move follows allegations of the gang's role in the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen near Vancouver. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the designation allows authorities to seize the gang’s Canadian assets and prosecute anyone found to be financing or aiding the group. This “gives us more powerful and effective tools to confront and put a stop to their crimes” he said.
Who is Lawrence Bishnoi?
Lawrence Bishnoi, 32, is seen as India’s most notorious gangster. Born in 1993 in Punjab, Lawrence Bishnoi is a notorious gangster, linked with several high-profile killings in India. He grew up in Abohar and later moved to Chandigarh in 2010 to attend DAV College, where he met gangster Goldy Brar. They both were involved in politics and criminal activities. Between 2010 and 2012, Bishnoi faced seven FIRs in Chandigarh, four of which he was acquitted of.
Though behind bars for nearly a decade, his network has been tied to high-profile killings, including Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022. Investigators say the group has expanded from campus-level racketeering to a global syndicate with links across India, Canada, and beyond.
Also read | Indonesia school collapse: At least one dead, dozens injured; 65 students feared trapped under rubble
Why did Canada designate the Bishnoi Gang a terrorist designation?
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Officials say the Bishnoi gang has targeted Sikh diaspora leaders, businesses, and cultural figures in Canada, creating “a climate of insecurity.” A 2023 shooting attack on the Vancouver Island home of Punjabi-Canadian artist AP Dhillon, and repeated extortion threats to community members, were cited as examples of the gang’s reach.
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RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme said police had uncovered “well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life” tied to the gang, prompting warnings to figures including relatives of Canadian opposition leader Jagmeet Singh. Police have arrested at least eight suspects linked to Nijjar’s murder and nearly two dozen others in extortion cases.
The World Sikh Organization welcomed the terror listing, calling it a vital first step but warning that accountability must go further. “The true architects of this violence must also be held to account,” the group said.
Diplomatic backdrop
The decision comes after a sharp diplomatic standoff last year, when Canadian investigators accused India of collaborating with the Bishnoi gang to assassinate Nijjar. Delhi dismissed the charges as "strange" and “ludicrous,” and under Prime Minister Mark Carney Canada has since tried to reset ties, with both sides agreeing to share intelligence on cross-border crime and extremism.
