THE VOICE has for years been reporting on the alleged involvement of notorious Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who seems to be operating with impunity from an Indian prison, in violent incidents in Canada.
There are suggestions that Bishnoi was used to carry out Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination last June in Surrey.
On December 7, 2023, The VOICE while reporting on the series of violent incidents in connecting with extortion of South Asian businesses, noted bluntly:
“There have been rumours and reports in media in India and in the South Asian media in Canada for years about notorious gangs connected to Punjab with criminal operations across India as well as Canada, the US and other countries. But somehow the RCMP and other Canadian police forces seem to have been absolutely ignorant or abysmally ineffective in dealing with these developments.”
We added: “THE VOICE reported [last November] in a report titled “Shots fired outside Punjabi singer-actor Gippy Grewal’s West Vancouver home; Lawrence Bishnoi group claims responsibility”: “The Lawrence Bishnoi gangster group in India last weekend claimed responsibility for shots fired outside Punjabi singer-actor Gippy Grewal’s residence in West Vancouver in the early hours of Sunday, November 24.
“West Vancouver Police spokesperson Sgt. Mark McLean told The VOICE that officers responded to a call of shots fired outside a residence on November 24 at about 12:15 a.m. He said police believe that it was a targeted incident and added that there were no safety concerns for the community at large.
“McLean said he could not say who had been targeted and what the motive was at this stage except that it was “a very active investigation.”
“India media reported last weekend that a Facebook account named Lawrence Bishnoi announced the gangster group’s involvement in the incident.”
We pointed out: “Indian media have been claiming that the shooting is for extorting money from the famous Punjabi star.”
IN 2022 there were several reports that stated that Bishnoi was allegedly involved in more than five dozen criminal cases lodged against him in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. He had once threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
In June 2022, The VOICE reported that Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had requested Canadian High Commissioner in India, Cameron MacKay, for help in catching Indian gangsters operating in Canada and creating law and order problems in his state.
Mann tweeted after meeting MacKay at his residence in Chandigarh: “Discussed during the meeting with the High Commissioner of Canadian Affairs @HCCanInd in India. He considered my request and promised a speedy solution.”
MacKay tweeted: “Good discussion with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann about the strong connections between Canada and #Punjab. We will work together to support the rule of law and robust cooperation between our law enforcement agencies … Looking forward to building on our first meeting.”
The request from Mann came in the wake of the brutal murder in Punjab of internationally famous singer Sidhu Moose Wala who was based in Brampton, Ontario. Indian police has alleged that Moose Wala’s killing was ordered by a Canada-based Punjabi gangster.
Indian police has alleged that Goldy Brar, linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Punjab, has claimed responsibility.
