In the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada for the G7 summit, the Ministry of Home Affairs had directed Central security agencies to compile and share intelligence on eight Canada-based fugitive gangsters and terrorists—including designated Khalistani terrorists Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla and Lakhbir Singh ‘Landa’. The information was expected to be handed over to Canadian authorities on the sidelines of the visit, it is learnt.
As reported by The Indian Express Tuesday, Delhi and Ottawa are engaged in hectic negotiations to create a joint working group to deal with transnational crimes. The negotiations are aimed at rebuilding bilateral ties while insulating them from the Canadian judicial process on the 2023 killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Sources said the consultative mechanism will be the first step towards assuaging concerns on both sides. While Canada will have a mechanism to discuss issues related to the judicial process, India can bring up Khalistan separatism and extremism-related concerns.
Ties between India and Canada were severely hit after September 2023, when then PM Justin Trudeau raised suspicion about the Indian government’s “potential” involvement in the killing of Canada-based Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the two countries expelled each other’s diplomats. It took a turn for the worse after Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission identified India as the “second most active country” interfering in its electoral affairs.
India has denied these allegations, terming them as “absurd” and “motivated”.
“Apart from Landa and Arsh, the list includes Lipin Nehra, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang; Rahul alias Harry Kailash Ritoli and Lakshya Gudhan, close associates of Himanshu Bhau; and Lucky Patial of Chandigarh, who took over the Davinder Bambiha gang after latter’s encounter in 2016. Currently operating from Canada, Lucky controls nearly 400 shooters across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh. He is a rival of the Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gangs and carries a bounty of Rs 5 lakh,” a source said.
While Central agencies already had a list of criminals operating from abroad, a fresh list was sought specifically of criminals based in Canada and their case status, sources said.
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“Following the MHA’s directions, the list of eight criminals, along with their criminal dossiers and efforts made by the Indian agencies to bring them back, was prepared,” said a source.
The list also includes Bambiha gang’s associate: Zahar Singh alias Prince Chauhan, whose extortion module is active in Punjab; Gurjant Singh alias Bholu, who belongs to Havelian village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district and is a key figure in a global drug syndicate. He is reported to have ties with other prominent criminals, including Amritpal Singh alias Baath, and Shehnaz Singh alias Shawn Bhinder, an international drug lord. “Bholu’s activities primarily revolve around smuggling of heroin and other narcotics from Pakistan and Afghanistan into India, as well as facilitating the distribution of cocaine from Colombia to the US and Canada,” a source said.
India’s Central investigation agencies, who approached the Royal Canadian Mounted police to discuss Dalla’s arrest, found that Dalla’s ankle bracelet put on him after he was granted bail in December was removed after he deposited a fine of 30,000 Canadian dollars. Significantly, it was the first time that one of India’s Central investigation agencies approached the Royal Canadian Mounted police to discuss Dalla’s arrest, and came amid India’s push for his extradition.
