India urged Canada to arrest Lawrence Bishnoi's gang members, no action was taken: MEA

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal

The Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that India had shared some requests with Canada for the arrest of some members from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. However, Canada hasn’t taken any action on New Delhi’s core concerns.

"We had shared some requests with the Canadian side for the arrest of those from Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang. They haven’t taken any action on our core concerns. There is a political motive also behind this," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal highlighted that there are 26 extradition request pending with the Canadian side. Along with it, there are several provisional arrest requests, which are also pending, he said.

"There are 26 extradition requests pending with Canadian side, these are over the last decade or more. Along with that, there are several provisional arrest requests which are also pending with Canadian side of certain criminals," the MEA spokesperson added further.

During the briefing, Jaiswal reiterated that Canada has not shared any shred of information with New Delhi proving the involvement of Indian agents in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

"We have made our position very clear on this particular matter. Several press releases have been issued in the last two days putting out our position, which we are very clear, that since September of 2023 the Canadian government has not shared any shred of information with us," he stated.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has alleged that the Bishnoi gang is connected to the “agents” of the Indian government, which is targeting the South Asian community specifically "pro-Khalistani elements" in the country.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Miniter Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".