Goldy Brar Added to FBI Most-Wanted List for Nijjar Murder as Surrey Sikh Community Faces Threats
Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar, has been placed on the FBI's most-wanted list with a $1 million reward for his alleged role in ordering the 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey. The major development lands as the city's large Punjabi community simultaneously deals with extortion-linked gunfire targeting the home of Cricket Canada's president, warnings to Sikh activists of threats against their lives, and a grassroots surge of interest in a film about a Sikh human rights hero that has been banned in India.
FBI Adds Goldy Brar to Most-Wanted Fugitive List, Offers $1 Million for Nijjar Assassination Suspect
The FBI has added Satinderjeet Singh — better known as Goldy Brar, a top lieutenant in the Lawrence Bishnoi gang — to its most-wanted fugitive list, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest, according to Radio-Canada and CBC. Brar was charged in July with ordering the June 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey. The FBI's assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office stated at a news conference that Brar 'joins the notorious Top 10 list because he is considered extremely violent and an enemy to the public.' Brar was also named in a U.S. indictment involving a cross-border investigation into racketeering, extortion and murder by India-linked crime syndicates, with 24 arrests made in the United States and Canada. U.S. court documents, as reported by the Surrey Now-Leader, have linked the Bishnoi gang to the death. Vancouver Sun confirmed the fugitive's addition to the FBI list. The move by U.S. law enforcement is a significant escalation in international accountability efforts surrounding Nijjar's killing, which had already become a major diplomatic rupture between Canada and India. [2]
Cricket Canada President's Surrey Home Hit by Gunfire in Second Extortion-Linked Shooting
The South Newton neighbourhood home of Cricket Canada president Arvinder Khosa was struck by gunfire for the second time in just two weeks, with Surrey police confirming the shooting was believed to be extortion-related, according to CBC. The first incident had occurred on May 20, and this latest attack came on June 4 in the early morning hours. Front-line officers responded to the scene near 57 Avenue and 148 Street just after 4 a.m. The home was occupied at the time of the shooting but no one was injured. Police confirmed the investigation is in its early stages and noted the extortion connection based on previous threats made against Khosa. The targeting of Cricket Canada's president is alarming within Surrey's South Asian community for multiple reasons: it touches on the sport that is culturally central to South Asian communities across the diaspora, and it underscores how even prominent public figures with no apparent ties to criminal activity can find themselves targeted. Cricket has been a major vehicle for social cohesion for Punjabi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and other South Asian communities in British Columbia, making Khosa's situation feel particularly disquieting. Community leaders have called on police to provide adequate protection to those facing extortion threats. [5]
Police Warn Sikh Activists in British Columbia and Ontario of Credible Threats to Their Lives
Police in British Columbia and Ontario have issued warnings to Sikh activists alerting them to credible threats against their lives, CityNews Vancouver reported. The warnings were accompanied by a photograph of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on a banner outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, as a reminder of the stakes involved for community figures who speak out on issues of Sikh rights and sovereignty. The situation has deepened a sense of anxiety in Punjabi communities across western and central Canada. The threats come against a backdrop of ongoing tensions over India's alleged role in transnational repression targeting members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada and elsewhere. Following Nijjar's assassination, Canadian government investigations confirmed a connection to agents of the Indian government — a finding that produced a severe diplomatic crisis between Ottawa and New Delhi. Activists who have continued to speak publicly on these issues say they have felt increasingly exposed. Advocates have called on the Canadian government to do more to protect individuals facing these threats, including more robust threat-assessment systems and clearer lines of communication between law enforcement and community members who have been warned of danger. [7]
Film Satluj, Banned in India, Finds an Eager Audience at Surrey Community Screenings
A film called Satluj, which stars popular Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh as Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has been blocked in India and was pulled from an Indian streaming service just two days after its release — but it is finding enthusiastic audiences at community screenings across Canada, with Surrey among the first cities to host events, according to CBC. Khalra was a Sikh activist who investigated and raised concerns about extrajudicial killings by police in Punjab during the 1980s and 1990s, a chapter of history that remains deeply painful and contested. His story is known to many Punjabi families who lived through or were affected by that era. The film's banning in India and removal from streaming has drawn considerable attention both to the story itself and to the question of cultural censorship. The Surrey screenings reflect the city's role as a hub of Sikh cultural and political life in Canada. That community has long been engaged with the history of the Sikh rights movement, and many attendees at the screenings brought with them a personal connection to the events depicted. The film's reception in Surrey and other Canadian cities stands in contrast to its suppression elsewhere. [9]
Sources: [2] Radio-Canada · [5] CBC · [7] CityNews Vancouver · [9] CBC