U.S. federal prosecutors have charged Lawrence Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh (known as Goldy Brar) in connection with the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader shot dead in Surrey, B.C. The charges, unsealed this week, mark the first time U.S. courts have directly named these two men as responsible for Nijjar's death. Bishnoi is currently in jail in India; Brar is believed to be in North America.

The U.S. indictment — a formal document laying out charges — was announced Tuesday at a press conference in Los Angeles. At the same time, law enforcement in Canada, the United States and Europe arrested and charged dozens of people suspected of involvement in crime networks based in India. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said American authorities are asking India to hand over Bishnoi so he can be tried in the United States.

Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey on June 18, 2023. Canadian police arrested four men in connection with the killing last year. However, those local charges did not clearly identify who ordered the murder. The new U.S. indictment alleges that Bishnoi, a gang leader, gave the order, and that Brar, his lieutenant in North America, passed the order along.

Canada has already taken separate action. In September 2025, the Canadian government officially declared the Bishnoi Gang a terrorist organization. This means that anyone who knowingly helps the gang — by giving it money, providing supplies, or helping it operate — can be prosecuted for supporting terrorism. In April 2026, Canada's financial intelligence agency released a report on money laundering linked to Bishnoi's gang, noting that victims had reported threats, shootings and ongoing demands for money.

The larger question remains unsettled. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2023 that evidence pointed to Indian government agents in Nijjar's death. India's government has denied this. The new U.S. charges do not answer whether Indian officials were involved — they only say who gave the order to kill Nijjar.

What happens next is uncertain. India does not have to agree to hand Bishnoi over to the United States, and he is already facing other charges in Indian courts. Whether the U.S. extradition request succeeds will depend on India's own legal decisions and how the two countries' extradition treaty works. Canada has already pressured India diplomatically over the Nijjar case, but that pressure has not shifted New Delhi's position.

The broader investigation stretches across three countries and focuses not just on Nijjar's death but on how Bishnoi's gang operates, moves money and extorts victims. That wider effort is likely to occupy police and prosecutors for months or years to come.