Asked Canada to extradite Lawrence Bishnoi gang members, got no response: India

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that similar extradition requests of syndicates linked to the Bishnoi gang were made recently as well, but Canada has not responded yet. 

In Short

• Justin Trudeau said Bishnoi gang was involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing
• Claimed Indian diplomats passed on information to Bishnoi gang members
• India says it asked Canada to extradite Bishnoi gang members few years back

India had requested the extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members and syndicates associated with them from Canada several years ago as well as recently, but received no response from Ottawa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

During the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India identified Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh Gill, Lakhbir Singh Landa, and Gurpreet Singh as members fo the Bishnoi gang and requested Canada to extradite them to no avail.

"We informed Canada about the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its syndicates and requested their provisional arrest and extradition some years back, and also recently. However, there has been no response from Canada so far", he said.

During the briefing, the MEA spokesperson reiterated that Canada has not shared any evidence in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar a matter in which Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved.

"We have made our position very clear on this particular matter. You would have seen that several press releases have been issued in the last two days putting out our position. Since September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared any shred of information with us", the MEA spokesperson said.

Jaiswal also said that Canada always brought forth 'freedom of speech' as their argument whenever India sought action against anti-India and separatist elements.

The government's statement came a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was linked by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to Nijjar's murder.

Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were collecting information on Canadians and passing it to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Trudeau, who testified before the country's foreign interference inquiry, claimed that the Canadian agencies tried to work behind the scenes with India before he went public with the allegations in the Nijjar killing.

However, during the same testimony, Trudeau admitted that his government only provided "intelligence and no proof" to India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

India-Canada diplomatic relations hit a new low earlier this week when Canada announced that top Indian diplomats in Ottawa were 'persons of interest', as far as its investigation into Nijjar's killing was concerned.

India rejected Canada's stand and, in retaliation, recalled six of its top diplomats from Canada, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.

In a tit-for-tat series of actions, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, prompting India to return the favour.