3 min readNew DelhiJul 8, 2026 09:49 AM IST
First published on: Jul 8, 2026 at 09:49 AM IST
The Canadian police said on Wednesday that there is no evidence linking Indian government officials to the 2023 killing of Canadian citizen and Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, nearly three years after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged security agencies were probing credible allegations of a “potential link” between Indian agents and the murder. The development came as newly unsealed indictments by the US Department of Justice identified gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as responsible for Nijjar’s killing.
“There is no evidence to suggest that through this organised crime syndicate investigation and the charges laid forward that Indian government officials would be charged or involved in this….nothing has come out to link the Indian government,” Lisa Moreland, Deputy Commissioner, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), told Canadian TV channel CBC News.
Trudeau’s allegations, which India had rejected as “absurd” and “motivated”, had led to a strain in bilateral ties between India and Canada.
Moreland added that investigations are still underway, based on the arrests and seizures that have taken place. The revelation came hours after law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, and Europe arrested 24 people—11 of them in California—connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with several criminal acts, including Nijar’s assassination.
Operation Hard Ball
Newly unsealed indictments by the US Department of Justice also identified Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, of Punjab, a “gangster long imprisoned in India”, as responsible for Nijjar’s killing. It also charged Satinderjeet Singh, 32, alias Goldy Brar, of Punjab, the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, the European leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, of Punjab.
The US Department of Justice said that ‘Operation Hard Ball’ is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora.
“In total, 37 defendants—including two defendants who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India—are charged across three indictments unsealed today. Those arrested in the United States—11 in California, one in Indiana, and one in Georgia—are expected to make their initial appearances today in federal court,” the Department of Justice said. It added that three defendants were arrested in Canada, one in Spain, and seven defendants were already in custody prior to the law enforcement operation.
Law enforcement is looking for 10 fugitives—seven in the United States, two in India, and one in Europe.
As part of this investigation, “law enforcement has seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin along with $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms. A total of 23 search warrants have been executed in the Sacramento area, and 11 warrants have been executed in the Los Angeles area,” the Department of Justice said.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a 'potential link' between Indian agents and the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar had led to a strain in bilateral ties. (File Photo) 
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