In order to carry out targeted assassinations of dissidents in Canada, Canadian authorities have accused the Indian government of collaborating with a criminal organisation led by Lawrence Bishnoi, one of India's most infamous criminals.

After Canadian police accused Indian diplomats of engaging in "criminal" actions in the nation, such as extortion, intimidation, coercion, and harassment, as well as participating in targeted killings of Canadian individuals, a diplomatic spat erupted between India and Canada on Monday.

According to Canadian authorities, they have discovered evidence linking Sanjay Verma, India's senior ambassador, to the June shooting death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara in a Vancouver suburb.

India rejected the allegations as “ludicrous” and claimed they were part of a political agenda by the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. As tensions between the two countries hit new lows, the two countries expelled each other’s top diplomats.

Among the allegations made by Canadian police is that Indian government agents had collaborated with a criminal syndicate run by India’s powerful mob boss Bishnoi to carry out assassinations. They alleged that the south Asian community, “specifically pro-Khalistani elements”, were being targeted by the Indian government.

Bishnoi has been in prison since 2014 but is accused of overseeing one of India’s largest criminal empires and has been implicated in several high-profile killings, including the shooting of a politician in Mumbai over the weekend.

“What we have seen is the use of organised crime elements,” said Brigitte Gauvin, a Canadian police assistant commissioner, at a press conference on Monday. “It’s been publicly attributed to one organised crime gang in particular. We believe the Bishnoi group is connected to the agents of the government of India.”

In Canada, where there is a sizable Indian Sikh diaspora, Bishnoi's gang is reportedly becoming more and more prevalent. Bishnoi's organisation took blame for the September 2023 murder of Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was on the Indian government's wanted list and supposedly had ties to Khalistani organisations. Gill was shot and killed in Winnipeg, Canada, and Canadian authorities claimed they now think Indian operatives ordered the murder.

Rising claims that the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has planned a campaign of transnational violence against anyone it views as dissidents or dangers to the state have been bolstered by Canada's charges.

In a statement on Monday, Trudeau said: “India has made a monumental mistake in choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians.”

A report in the Washington Post cited Canadian officials who claimed to have evidence that the attacks and surveillance of Sikhs in Canada had been directly authorised by Indian’s home minister, Amit Shah, who is known as Modi’s right-hand man.

The report also claimed that the evidence of high-level Indian involvement in criminal activity in Canada had been presented to India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, at a secret meeting over the weekend, where Doval denied any involvement in violence.

Doval reportedly rebuffed allegations that India recruited the Bishnoi gang to carry out targeted killings, but did acknowledge that Bishnoi was “capable of orchestrating violence from wherever he is incarcerated”.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the US government had also been part of recent discussions with India regarding allegations of the Indian government’s involvement in transnational attacks on Canadian and US soil.

Last year, US investigators said they had foiled the attempted murder of the Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun by an agent working for the Indian government. India said it had formed an inquiry into the incident and this week a statement by the US state department said Indian officials were due to travel to Washington DC on Tuesday to discuss the case.