No proof over ‘Op. The Hard Ball investigation implicates the Indian government. to kill Nijjar: Canadian police

Investigators have found no evidence through the latest “Operation Hard Ball” linking Indian government officials to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, a senior Canadian police official said, contradicting then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s earlier accusations that they had severely strained bilateral relations.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland’s comments came hours after US authorities accused jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar of ordering Nijjar’s murder.

In a coordinated manhunt dubbed “Operation Hardball”, law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 people for their alleged links to three India-based organized crime groups, including the Bishnoi gang.

The charges against them included orchestrating Nijjar’s murder, as well as various other cross-border organized crimes.

Ms. Moreland shared details of the investigation with Canada’s CBC News that investigators found no evidence that Indian officials were involved in Nijjar’s killing.

“There is no evidence to suggest that this organized crime investigation and charges and indictments have been brought forward that Indian officials have been accused or involved,” she said in response to a specific question about Trudeau’s allegations.

Ms Moreland said the Indian government had extended cooperation to the investigation.

Weeks after Nijjar was killed outside a Gurudwara in British Columbia, Mr. Trudeau made sensational allegations linking the Indian government to the killing of a Sikh separatist.

An outraged New Delhi categorically dismissed the allegation as “absurd”.

When relations hit rock bottom following Trudeau’s allegations, India accused Ottawa of allowing pro-Khalistan elements to operate from Canadian soil.

In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa tried to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled the same number of Canadian diplomats.

However, Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s victory in the general election last April helped restore relations.

Subsequently, both sides sent their high commissioners to each other’s capitals. The two countries also agreed to revive several mechanisms to promote relations in a number of areas.

Also read | India strongly rejects a new report by Canadian media on the killing of Nijjar, calling it a smear campaign

Relations have seen a major upswing since Prime Minister Carney’s visit to India in March.

In her remarks, Ms. Moreland said the investigation found the Bishnoi gang was involved in extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and violence in Canada and elsewhere.

While Bishnoi has been in jail in India since 2015, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of ‘Braro’.

The crackdown on the crime networks of Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria was part of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates involved in targeted killings, shootings, extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes around the world, the US Department of Justice said.

A total of 37 defendants — including two defendants who ran their global crime syndicates while jailed in India — are charged in three indictments unsealed today, the agency said.

“The charges in the indictment include the allegation that Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar directed the 2023 assassination of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada identified by his initials HSN (Nijjar) in the indictment,” Bilal A. Essay, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, said Tuesday.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the agencies had disrupted the operations of “organized criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in Canada and the United States.

“We will not pause for long to reflect on the work it took to do this job; we will continue to do what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, the United States and around the world,” Mr. Duheme said.

Nijjar was the chief of the outlawed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was designated as a terrorist by India.

Published – 8 Jul 2026 18:59 IST