Calls Grow in Canada to Designate Bishnoi Gang as Terrorist Organisation

Canadian political leaders are urging the federal government to formally designate the India-based Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, citing a surge in violent incidents linked to the group.

The debate follows the killing of 51-year-old Harjit Singh Dhadda in Brampton, Ontario, on May 14. Police said Dhadda was shot multiple times in the car park outside his trucking insurance office in Mississauga. Hours later, two men claimed responsibility in a Facebook post, identifying themselves as members of the Bishnoi gang, led by Lawrence Bishnoi, currently imprisoned in Gujarat, India.

The attack was followed within weeks by the shootings of two other businessmen of Indian origin in British Columbia and Ontario. Authorities say the incidents indicate the expansion of the Bishnoi network into Canada.British Columbia Premier David Eby said on June 17 that a terrorist designation “enables police to use the necessary tools to investigate and bring this activity to an end. It gives police significant investigative tools.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith backed the move in July, calling it a step that would “unlock critical powers” for law enforcement. Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said there was “credible intelligence” linking the gang to extortion and targeted violence, adding that the group “originates from India” and is “specifically targeting the South Asian community.”

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and British Columbia Conservative lawmaker Jody Toor have also expressed support.

The federal government has signalled it is considering the request. Ruby Sahota, Secretary of State for Combating Crime, said there was “precedent for criminal organisations being designated this way” and that she supports “a thorough, evidence-based approach.”Amarnath Amarasingam, an extremism researcher at Queen’s University, said that listing the Bishnoi group as a terrorist organisation would broaden law enforcement’s reach — enabling terrorism-related charges, criminalising recruitment and financing, freezing assets, and enhancing surveillance.

“A terrorist designation would send a strong signal to India and other allies that Canada is taking the transnational threat seriously,” he said, noting that it would also improve intelligence-sharing with partners such as the Five Eyes alliance.

Canadian officials previously accused the Bishnoi gang of working with Indian intelligence to target critics of the Indian government on Canadian soil. The gang came to international attention after the June 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, which Ottawa linked to Indian involvement.