FBI targets Bishnoi gang lieutenant for Surrey gurdwara killing as Sikh extortion threats escalate
The FBI has placed Bishnoi gang lieutenant Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar, on its most-wanted fugitive list and offered a $1-million (USD) reward for information leading to his arrest, directly linking him to the 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. The escalating pressure on the Bishnoi network coincides with fresh threats targeting Surrey's South Asian community: Cricket Canada president Arvinder Khosa's home was struck by gunfire for the second time in two weeks in what police describe as an extortion-related attack, and RCMP issued rare duty-to-warn notices to Sikh activists in British Columbia and Ontario facing credible and imminent threats to their lives.
FBI names Bishnoi gang lieutenant Goldy Brar in Surrey gurdwara murder, offers $1-million reward
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation formally placed Satinderjeet Singh, widely known as Goldy Brar, on its most-wanted fugitives list on September 28, 2026, and announced a reward of one million U.S. dollars for information leading to his arrest. FBI Assistant Director Patrick Grandy called Brar "extremely violent and an enemy to the public" and stated the bureau had "made it a priority to apprehend him." Brar is alleged to be the right-hand man of jailed gang boss Lawrence Bishnoi, the head of a sprawling India-linked criminal network that operates across North America, Europe, and South Asia. Prosecutors say Bishnoi runs his organization from prison using smuggled phones, with trusted lieutenants like Brar overseeing day-to-day operations on the ground. Brar was named in a U.S. federal indictment unsealed this past summer as part of a sweeping cross-border investigation that led to 24 arrests in the United States and Canada. The indictment charges the Bishnoi network with racketeering, extortion, kidnapping, murders, and drug trafficking across multiple jurisdictions. Central to the charges against Brar is the June 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh community figure and separatist leader, who was shot dead by masked gunmen in the car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijjar's killing deeply shook Surrey's large Punjabi Sikh diaspora and sparked a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India after intelligence agencies alleged that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder. New Delhi has repeatedly denied any involvement, and the case has remained a point of severe strain in Canada-India relations. [1]
Cricket Canada president's Surrey home struck by gunfire a second time in extortion-related attack
The Surrey home of Arvinder Khosa, president of Cricket Canada, was struck by gunfire for the second time in less than two weeks on the morning of June 4, 2026, in what Surrey Police Service investigators describe as an extortion-related attack. Officers responded to reports of shots fired near 57 Avenue and 148 Street in the South Newton neighbourhood shortly after 4 a.m. The home was occupied at the time of the shooting, but no one was injured. The same address had been targeted on May 20, 2026, also in an extortion-related incident, prompting the SPS extortion response team to assume full control of the investigation. In a news release, police cited the recurring nature of the attacks and prior threats against Khosa as clear indicators that extortion is the motive. Authorities are asking anyone with dashcam footage, CCTV recordings, or direct information about the suspects to come forward. The targeting of Khosa, a prominent figure in Surrey's South Asian cricketing community, has alarmed community members and advocates who argue that organized crime extortion continues to disproportionately affect visible-minority business owners and civic leaders in the city. Surrey, home to one of Canada's largest South Asian populations, has seen a pattern of gang-related extortion incidents directed at community figures, underscoring the vulnerability of prominent members of the Punjabi diaspora to targeted criminal activity. [4]
🗳️ RCMP issues duty-to-warn notices to Sikh activists facing imminent threats to their lives
The RCMP issued formal duty-to-warn notices to at least two Sikh activists in Canada in August 2026, informing them that their lives face credible, serious, and imminent threats linked to their involvement in the Khalistan independence movement. The notices, obtained by The Canadian Press, were issued to Inderjeet Singh Gosal of Caledon, Ontario, and Manjinder Singh of Abbotsford, British Columbia. While police could not publicly disclose the specific nature of the threats, the issuance of duty-to-warn letters represents a serious escalation: it is the RCMP's legal obligation to notify individuals when law enforcement holds intelligence indicating a real and immediate danger to their personal safety. The warnings arrive against a backdrop of rising tensions involving India-linked organized crime networks and Sikh diaspora leaders across Canada, particularly in British Columbia where Surrey is located. Photographs from protests at Hindu temples in Ontario underscored the community-wide anxiety that has followed a series of high-profile incidents, from the assassination of Nijjar in Surrey to the repeated targeting of community leaders by criminal gangs with alleged ties to India. Advocates within Surrey's Sikh community have called on the federal government to strengthen protections for diaspora activists and to ensure that Canadian Sikhs can freely exercise their political views without fearing for their lives. [6]
Sources: [1] Radio-Canada · [4] CBC · [6] CityNews Vancouver