US prosecutors charge Indian crime boss with murder of Sikh activist in Canada

US prosecutors have charged an Indian gangster and some of his associates of orchestrating the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The charges against Lawrence Bishnoi come as part of a sweeping series of arrests - in the US, Canada and Europe - of people with alleged links to three India-based organised crime groups, including the Bishnoi gang. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said the arrests were the result of a years-long investigation into Indian crime syndicates that were engaged in targeted killings, extortion and drug trafficking around the world. In total, 37 defendants have been charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday. "Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement. "There is no safe harbor for these thugs." Nijjar, 45, was shot dead three years ago in his vehicle by two masked gunmen in the busy car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, a city about 30km (18 miles) east of Vancouver. He was a prominent Sikh separatist leader and publicly campai