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Relations between India and Canada have plummeted as both nations have expelled their top diplomats amid rising tensions surrounding the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.
The latest dispute erupted on Monday when India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced it had received “diplomatic communication” from Canada, indicating that Indian diplomats were being considered “persons of interest” in an investigation in Canada.
Canadian police alleged that the Indian government was using “organized crime groups, like the Bishnoi group,” to target leaders of the pro-Khalistan movement, which advocates for a separate Sikh homeland in India. This accusation brought Lawrence Bishnoi, a 31-year-old gangster from India, back into the spotlight both domestically and internationally.
Who is Lawrence Bishnoi?
Bishnoi first gained national attention when he was linked to the murder of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala on May 29, 2022. Moose Wala was also affiliated with India’s opposition party, Congress. Bishnoi’s associates claimed responsibility for the killing, citing an inter-gang rivalry as the motive.
More recently, Bishnoi’s gang was implicated in the murder of 66-year-old Muslim politician Baba Siddique in Mumbai’s affluent Bandra area last weekend.
In 2018, Bishnoi gained notoriety for threatening Bollywood star Salman Khan over allegations of poaching two blackbuck antelopes, a revered species for the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, to which he belongs. Federal investigators estimate that Bishnoi still leads a gang with around 700 members across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi, involved in extortion, drug and weapon smuggling, and targeted killings.
Early Life
Born in 1993 near the Pakistan border in Punjab, India, Bishnoi came from a wealthy family that owned more than 100 acres of farmland in Duttaranwali village. After completing high school, he moved to Chandigarh to study law. There, at DAV College, he became involved in student politics and allegedly entered the criminal underworld by clashing with rival student factions.
His early brushes with the law included arrests for arson and attempted murder, leading to incarceration in Chandigarh, where he reportedly connected with other gangsters.
For over a decade, Bishnoi has cycled between prisons while extending his crime syndicate into New Delhi and surrounding states, engaging in turf wars with rival gangs in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab. He is known to have active associates in Canada and the United States.
