Conservatives, B.C. premier urge Carney to designate Bishnoi Gang as terrorists
The federal Conservatives are adding their voice to calls for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to be designated a terrorist organization, following similar appeals from British Columbia Premier David Eby.
The federal Conservatives are adding their voice to calls for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to be designated a terrorist organization in Canada, following similar appeals from British Columbia Premier David Eby earlier this summer.
In a letter to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree on August 11, Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo urged the Liberal government to use powers under the Criminal Code to list the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity, citing its record of violence, intimidation, and extortion targeting South Asian Canadians.
“The Bishnoi Gang’s activities lay the groundwork for listing it as a terrorist entity,” Caputo wrote.
He said the group has claimed responsibility for violence in Canada and abroad, including political shootings, extortion, and “extreme violence” carried out for political, religious and ideological reasons.
The public safety critic added that members “boast of such activities to intimidate other potential targets.”
Caputo argued that such a designation would give law enforcement and all levels of government the tools needed to address the gang’s activities, including financial, criminal and property sanctions.
He also pointed to “clear political consensus” from provincial leaders in British Columbia and Alberta.
On June 18, Eby formally asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to take the same step, citing a wave of threats and extortion targeting members of B.C.’s Indian community.
“This activity strikes at public confidence in the justice system, in our democracy,” Eby said at the time.
Police in Abbotsford, B.C., have linked the gang to extortion attempts and property damage in the province, while advocates such as the World Sikh Organization have accused the group of working as a proxy for the Indian government to target Sikh Canadians.
The Bishnoi Gang is alleged by India’s National Investigation Agency to be run by Lawrence Bishnoi from inside Indian jails and to operate through associates in the diaspora.
Allegations have also surfaced that Indian officials passed information on Sikh separatists in Canada to the gang.
Ottawa has not responded to either Eby’s or Caputo’s request.
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It doesn’t surprise me that mark is not interested in B.C. or Alberta’s concerns even while Eby has been kissing up to mark since he took office. Maybe now eby will understand that mark looks after mark and could care less about western Canada.