Surrey Sikh Community in Focus as FBI Names Goldy Brar to Most-Wanted List
The FBI placed Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar, on its top-ten most-wanted list and offered a $1 million US reward for information on the man charged with ordering the 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara. Meanwhile, Surrey hosted community screenings of Satluj, a Diljit Dosanjh film about another Sikh human rights figure that India suppressed after blocking its streaming release within 48 hours of launch.
FBI Puts Goldy Brar on Most-Wanted List Over Surrey Gurdwara Killing
The FBI placed Satinderjeet Singh, widely known as Goldy Brar, on its most-wanted fugitives list and offered a $1 million US reward for information leading to his arrest. Brar is accused of orchestrating the June 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijjar was shot dead by masked gunmen in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. FBI Assistant Director Patrick Grandy said at a news conference that Brar joins the top-ten list because he is considered extremely violent and an enemy to the public, calling his arrest a priority for the Los Angeles Field Office. Brar was named in a U.S. indictment released that summer as part of a cross-border investigation into racketeering, extortion, and murder involving India-linked crime syndicates. He was formally charged in July for ordering the killing of Nijjar. The FBI further alleges that Lawrence Bishnoi directs the criminal organization from jail using smuggled phones, with Brar serving as his right-hand man overseeing North American operations. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian intelligence had linked agents of the Indian government to Nijjar's death, sparking a diplomatic rupture between Canada and India. New Delhi has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing. [5]
🎬 Satluj, Banned in India, Draws Surrey Community Screenings
A film about Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra drew audiences to community screenings in Surrey, B.C., and other Canadian cities even as India suppressed it. The film Satluj stars Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh as Khalra, who investigated extrajudicial killings and disappearances of Sikhs during Punjab's separatist insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s. India's film censorship board blocked the film from release for approximately two to three years before it was eventually launched on a streaming platform. Government authorities then ordered the film taken down within 48 hours of going live, citing security concerns according to local media. Gurpreet Singh, an independent journalist and author based in Delta, B.C., said the censorship board had obstructed the film's release for years before this latest action. Rather than dampening interest, the Indian government's efforts to suppress the film appear to have increased its profile in Canada's Punjabi diaspora. Community-organized screenings in Surrey this weekend drew audiences who could not view the film through normal channels. The story connects directly to wider conversations in the British Columbia Sikh community about historical justice, state violence, and the right to public memory. [7]
Sources: [5] Radio-Canada · [7] CBC