Minister of Public Safety fights to keep accused murderer and alleged Bishnoi gangster in custody

Lawyers for Canada's government minister of Public refuge testament be in federal soldier margaret court Friday trying to keep an alleged Bishnoi gang member who faces a murder charge in India in custody while he fights the government's efforts to deport him.

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Photographs included in the federal court file place Singh — who absconded from India in 2019 while on bail in relation to a 2012 murder — alongside Anmol Bishnoi and Lakhvinder "Lakha" Kumar, another senior member of the gang, at a residence northeast of San Francisco in 2024.

Both Anmol Bishnoi and Kumar have since been deported to India where they face multiple criminal charges related to extortion, shootings and targeted killings.

The documents claim Singh — who has been in Canadian immigration custody since April — is also suspected of ordering a shooting and arson attack at the Victoria-area home of Punjabi singer AP Dhillon in 2024.

"Given his past criminality and documented links to the Bishnoi group, a designated terrorist entity, [Singh]'s danger to the public needs to be offset by reasonable conditions of release," the government said in a last-minute application filed last week to halt Singh's release.

"In the absence of proper consideration of the risk he presents if released under the current conditions, release would pose a danger to the Canadian public."

The Minister of Public Safety wants to overturn an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) order issued July 7 that would have seen Singh released on electronic monitoring, under virtual house arrest, after his two sisters posted bonds worth a combined $110,000.

A federal court judge put a short term pause on the order after the government filed an "urgent" request for a special sitting the day after IRB member Madona Mokbel signed the release order.

The proceedings coincided with last week's bombshell announcement of Operation Hard Ball — a joint investigation between law enforcement agencies in Canada, the U.S. And Europe targeting transnational crime syndicates with links to India, including the Bishnoi gang.

Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates face a sweeping indictment in the U.S., accusing them of conspiring to commit extortion, drug trafficking and the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.

A former university student leader, Lawrence Bishnoi has been in a jail cell in India since 2015. The federal government listed his transnational criminal syndicate as a terrorist entity last year, claiming "specific communities have been targeted for terror, violence and intimidation."

The documents filed in Karamveer Singh's case reflect the depth of coordination between the FBI and the RCMP in relation to the Bishnoi gang's role in the extortion crisis plaguing South Asian communities on both sides of the border.

In the latest court filings, Ottawa cited Singh's "recent and significant associations with members of the Bishnoi gang" as well as what it claims are "errors in findings the bondspeople suitable" in asking for an emergency hearing to stay the release order.

The Minister of Public Safety claims a jewelry store owned by the husband of one of Singh's sisters was financed by Karamveer Singh and pointed to approximately $240,000 in electronic money transfers the couple "were not accurately disclosing."

The documents claim Singh's other sister's immigration and travel history "was inconsistent with her income sources. In addition there were several deposits in her accounts where there was no reasonable explanation for the sources."

According to the court filings, Singh was charged with murder in 2012 in relation to the shooting of a political figure in Punjab. He remained in custody for years as the case ground through the courts, but was released on bail in 2019 after the death of his father.

"The prosecution proceeded against his co-accused, who were tried, convicted and sentenced for murder," the government's application reads.

"The Indian court preserved the evidentiary record to permit [Singh] to be tried if and when he is returned to India."

Singh obtained a Mexican visa and then entered the United States illegally, making a failed refugee claim which resulted in an exclusion order.

He then entered Canada in January 2025 "between ports of entry." Singh was caught by the RCMP and made a refugee claim but was found ineligible — resulting in another deportation order.

He currently has multiple Canadian immigration proceedings underway — including an application for permanent residency through his wife.

Singh's lawyers would not comment in advance of the hearing but said they are contesting the Minister of Public Safety's application.

In a letter to the judge, they called the release decision "thoroughly reasoned, highly restrictive" and based on on "extensive and microscopic cross-examinations of both bondspersons."

The court file includes a statutory declaration Singh wrote from Toronto's Immigration Holding Centre, claiming he is a victim of "corrupt" Indian justice and politics that left him no choice but to flee the country because he felt his life and liberty were at risk.

"What the court says happened is like a Bollywood movie and is not what happened at all," he says.

"I did not kill anyone. I was falsely implicated in this case."

Singh claims he has never been been charged with a crime, "other than the false charges in India," though he does acknowledge a peace bond that resulted in a no-contact order with his wife last January.

He claims he was introduced to Anmol Bishnoi by a friend.

"I regret meeting Anmol Bishnoi and spending time with him. He has a 'big name' and maybe there was some kind of fascination by me of hanging out with him. This was very foolish," Singh writes, calling his decision to spend time with the gangster "a grave error in judgment."

"But I can say that no gang or criminal activity ever took place in my presence ... I admit that even my casual social ties with individuals with serious criminal charges or history was a serious mistake on my part and I regret it heavily."

The court filings include three weeks of surveillance reports and photographs taken in March 2024 from an FBI pole camera placed outside the residence Karamveer Singh shared with Anmol Bishnoi in Martinez, 60 kilometres northeast of San Francisco.

The photographs show Bishnoi coming and going from the house. Singh can be seen washing cars, kissing a woman and accompanying Bishnoi to a vehicle in one photograph. The surveillance also captured Lakhvinder Kumar and Anmol Bishnoi together.

A separate FBI report written to the RCMP in September 2024 notes that Karamveer Singh's wedding to a Canadian was held in Bakersfield in April 2023 and attended by guests including Anmol Bishnoi.

The report claims "Karamveer financed" his brother-in-law's jewelry store in Brampton, but says "since being in the U.S., Karamveer has been unemployed."

The FBI document says Karamveer has a cousin who is his "direct contact in Canada" and "handles all the extortion related to the Punjabi singers."

To that end, the FBI claims "Karamveer was responsible for putting the hit on" a shooting at singer AP Dhillon's house in Victoria — a reference to a shooting and arson attack at the musician's home which was filmed, uploaded to the internet and claimed by the Bishnoi gang.

According to evidence presented in B.C. Criminal proceedings, Dhillon fell into the gang's crosshairs by producing a music video featuring Salman Khan, a Bollywood star targeted for hunting a type of antelope revered by the Bishnoi community.

At a separate immigration hearing, Abjeet Singh Kingra, the man who shot 14 bullets at Dhillon's home, claimed he was paid $4,000 for the attack, which earned him a six-year prison sentence and a deportation order from Canada.

Anmol Bishnoi was deported from the U.S. To India in November 2025.

India's National Investigation Agency claims Anmol Bishnoi assisted his brother's former lieutenant Goldy Brar — who is also named in the U.S. Indictment — in the commission of various acts of terrorism in India from 2020 to 2023. He fled for the U.S. In 2022.

"Operating closely with various Bishnoi gang associates, Anmol continued to run terror syndicates and execute terrorist acts from the U.S. For the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, using its operatives on the ground," the agency said in a press release issued on Bishnoi's deportation.

"Investigations revealed that Anmol Bishnoi had provided shelter and logistic support to the gang’s shooters and ground operatives. He was also engaged in extortion in India from foreign soil with the help of other gangsters."

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Goldy Brar, who has been linked to numerous acts of violence in Canada, is still at large. The United States has offered $50,000 for information leading to his capture.

In the declaration written from immigration custody, Karamveer Singh claims Anmol Bishnoi's presence at his wedding became widely known after a video of his engagement went viral.

"This will be used as proof positive by the Indian government and security agencies that I am a Bishnoi gang member and this will mean risk to my life if I return," Singh wrote.

Since coming to Canada, Singh claims he has committed himself to political activities, speaking at rallies in support of Sikh rights — activity he hopes to continue if he is allowed to stay in Canada.

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