Federal government lists Bishnoi Gang as terrorist entity

The federal government has listed the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced on Monday.

"Specific communities have been targeted for terror, violence and intimidation by the Bishnoi Gang. Listing this group of criminal terrorists gives us more powerful and effective tools to confront and put a stop to their crimes," the minister said in a statement.

Listing a group as a terrorist entity in Canada gives the federal government the power to freeze or seize property, vehicles and money, along with giving Canadian law enforcement additional tools to prosecute terrorist offences.

The Bishnoi Gang is one of a number of criminal enterprises from the Punjab and Haryana states in northern India that have spread into North America in recent years, even as its founder Lawrence Bishnoi has languished in Indian prisons since 2014.

Their violence is partly rooted in village codes of honour and vendetta, but it's mainly driven by modern imperatives of business and politics. Indian media describe drug smuggling and extortion as the gangs' biggest sources of income, both at home and abroad.

In a statement, Public Safety Canada said the Bishnoi Gang is a transnational criminal organization that's active in parts of Canada with significant diaspora communities.

"The Bishnoi Gang engages in murder, shootings and arson, and generates terror through extortion and intimidation," the statement says.

"They create a climate of insecurity in these communities by targeting them, their prominent community members, businesses and cultural figures," it adds.

Listing the gang as a terrorist entity also gives federal immigration officials the right to deny people associated with the gang entry to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The 2022 high-profile murder of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, repeated death threats against Bollywood star Salman Khan over his alleged poaching of two blackbuck antelopes and the murder of Mumbai-based Baba Siddique, an influential 66-year old politician — all are alleged to be the work of the Bishnoi Gang.

In October, the RCMP claimed the Bishnoi Gang was targeting members of the pro-Khalistan movement on Canadian soil, allegedly at the behest of the Indian government.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin said investigators believe the gang is "connected to agents of the government of India."

Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau also made the explicit connection during his October testimony at foreign interference commission suggesting Indian diplomats collected information on Canadians who were "in disagreement" with the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trudeau said that information was then passed on to "the highest levels" of the Indian government before it was directed to "criminal organizations like the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang," ending in "violence against Canadians on the ground."

Indian officials have rejected the accusations as "preposterous," accusing Canada of harbouring violent members of a group that calls for the creation of a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan and claiming the governing Liberals are trying to win votes from the country's large Sikh community.

While in Surrey B.C. last month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre added his voice to the list of other politicians who were calling on the federal government to declare a gang a terrorist organization.

Other political leaders who have called for the Bishnoi Gang to be listed include Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

The World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada issued a statement welcoming the government's decision.

Calling the designation "an important first step," WSO president Danis Singh called on the federal government to sanction, expose and punish "Indian officials" who he alleges have directed, financed or facilitated the gang's operations.