Canada lists the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity

Canada has listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, following calls from Conservative and NDP politicians.

The listing bars Canadians from financing or aiding the group led by Lawrence Bishnoi, the gang’s leader in India who has reportedly co-ordinated criminal activities from a cellphone inside a prison.

Last year, the RCMP accused India of using the Bishnoi gang to carry out murders and acts of extortion targeting Canadians, particularly those who advocate for the creation of a separate Sikh country to be called Khalistan.

New Delhi has rejected those claims and says it has instead been working with Ottawa to try to stop the gang’s financial flows to Canada.

The new designation allows authorities to seize property and freeze accounts, and Ottawa says this will help fight crime targeting prominent members of India’s diaspora in Canada.

Wesley Wark, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, has previously said that a terror listing likely won’t deter the gang, as Canada’s main issue is a lack of capacity in gathering criminal intelligence.

B.C. premier celebrates

In June, B.C. Premier David Eby said he would write to Prime Minister Mark Carney to ask that the group receive the terrorist designation.

“This is a serious step,” Eby said at the time. “We don’t make this recommendation lightly, but this activity strikes at public confidence in the justice system, in our democracy.”

In an update on Monday, the premier congratulated the public safety minister and Carney on making the “right move.”

“This will give the police the tools that they need to seize the assets of these gangs and their members that are operating in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. It’ll give them additional tools for rest to keep our streets safe,” said Eby in a post to social media.

Additionally, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke welcomes the moves by the feds as well.

“I was very pleased that they have taken this move to make the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang a terrorist organization in Canada. I think it’s important. It’s important for policing to have every tool they can in their toolbox,” she told 1130 NewsRadio.

She says South Asian community members in her city have had enough.

“I can tell you the people in the city of Surrey are frightened. Every time I go to an event, I am asked the question. People are scared. There is no question that this is some transnational crime in our city that is causing complete disarray in public safety.”

Earlier this month, Locke and Surrey Police Service Chief Norm Lipinski announced a $250,000 reward available to residents who provide information leading to convictions in cases of extortion affecting the city’s South Asian community.

“I think it’s really important that all orders of government, obviously, the city and we have done what we’ve had to do in providing a $250,000 reward package, but I think the province has to step up and the federal government, this is transnational crime and we need to all take this very, very seriously,” Locke explained.

Since June, the province has launched a $100,000 campaign to spread awareness, and a $200,000 coordinated task force investigating extortion crimes affecting B.C.’s South Asian communities.