Crimes committed by Indian students in Canada have increased 8,800% since 2016, according to a classified intelligence report on a notorious India-based gang.
The Bishnoi Gang, named after founder Lawrence Bishnoi, allegedly carried out a political assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in 2023, was accused of being an “agent of the Indian government” by Canadian police in 2024, and was added to Canada’s list of terrorist groups in September.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) report, a “tactical guide” titled The Bishnoi Gang: An Emerging Threat In Canada, was written for immigration officials in December 2025 and described the gang’s “growing operational presence”, “vast network” of recruits, and links to the Indian-dominated trucking industry.
The report, obtained by Global News, also noted the gang’s “demonstrated use of Canada’s immigration programs for criminal purposes”, and shows the government’s foreign student program helped the gang expand.
“Investigations increasingly identify Indian foreign nationals on study permits and work permits as participants in these organised criminal activities,” the CBSA’s Intelligence and Investigations Directorate wrote.
“The sustained expansion of Bishnoi-linked extortions and the involvement of student permit and work permit holders raises significant concerns for CBSA operations.”
Indian was the “top source” country for study visa holders charged with criminal offences, and crimes by Indian students rose 8,800% between 2016 and 2024, the report stated, but noted “these statistics likely underrepresent the extent of the issue as many crimes go undetected and unreported”.
In 2024 alone, 13,040 criminal charges were laid against 2,418 Indians studying in Canada, about 1.2% of the 188,125 Indian students in the country that year, according to the report.
The CBSA found that while overall extortion was down, the number of Indian citizens charged with the crime increased 47%, amid a spike in reports of Bishnoi Gang demands for money from Indian immigrants.
“The upwards trend in extortion charges mirrors a similar trajectory seen with serious and organised crime charges within the Indian student permit holder demographic,” the report stated.
Bishnoi Gang members who entered the country on student visas include its North American leader, Goldy Brar, who is accused of killing a Punjabi pop star in India in 2022.
Brar, a 32-year-old whose real name is Satinderjeet Singh also allegedly ordered the 2023 political assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar along with Bishnoi, according to the US Department of Justice.
Canadian authorities have also accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of involvement in the killing, and the CBSA report stated that “these allegations suggest potential overlap between organised crime and state-linked actors pursuing parallel objectives”.
The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Brar, who has been on the run since 2022. The report states that his “whereabouts remain unknown”.
Abjeet Kingra, who shot up a Punjabi musician’s home in Colwood, British Columbia, Jashandeep Singh, who is facing deportation for firearms offences, and Brar’s lieutenant Arshdeep Singh, who was deported in February, all also entered Canada on student visas.
Header image: Left, Goldy Brar. Right, Lawrence Bishnoi (Indian Express).
