Canada on Monday officially designated India’s Bishnoi gang as a “terrorist entity,” targeting the group over alleged involvement in the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver.
Nijjar, who had campaigned for a separate Sikh state in India, was shot dead in a parking lot, prompting accusations by Canadian authorities that members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government collaborated with the Bishnoi gang to target Sikh activists in Canada. India strongly denied the allegations, sparking a diplomatic standoff that led both countries to expel senior diplomats.
Canada’s Public Safety Minister, Gary Anandasangaree, said the designation provides Ottawa with “more powerful and effective tools to confront” the gang. His office described the Bishnoi group as “a transnational criminal organization operating primarily out of India, with a presence in Canada, that generates terror through extortion and intimidation.”
The move comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney, who assumed office in March, seeks to repair Canada-India relations and strengthen trade ties in Asia amid tensions with the United States. Carney met Modi at the G7 summit in June to emphasize the countries’ commercial links.
The designation allows Canadian authorities to impose stricter measures against the gang, including asset freezes and enhanced law enforcement action, amid ongoing concerns over transnational crime and political violence targeting Canadian citizens.