India and Canada expelled six of their respective diplomats after Ottawa accused Indian government agents of links to the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which is investigating the case at the heart of Monday’s severing of ties, has accused Indian government agents of being linked to an organized crime group called the “Bishnoi group.”

India’s top investigative agency, the National Investigation Agency, describes the group as a criminal gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose lawyer says he is contesting more than 40 cases accusing him of crimes such as as murder and extortion, and many trials have not yet begun.

India has not responded to accusations of links between government officials and the Bishnoi group. The Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India has previously dismissed as “absurd” all Canadian accusations regarding the killing.

Here are the key facts about Bishnoi and his associates.

WHO IS LAWRENCE BISHNOI?

The NIA accused the 31-year-old law graduate, who has been imprisoned since 2015, of running a transnational crime syndicate.

Born in the northern state of Punjab, Bishnoi is short and thin, sporting a beard and mustache when seen in public during court appearances.

In statements, the NIA said he ran his syndicate from prisons in different states, as well as in countries like Canada, through associates who were in contact with “pro-Khalistani” elements. in neighboring Nepal and other countries.

However, Bishnoi said he opposed Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state, and was not “anti-national”, in an interview with a private news channel. last year.

The video of the interview has since been taken down and police are investigating how the video was made.

WHERE IS HE?

Bishnoi is an inmate at Sabarmati Central Prison in the industrial city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat. Media reports said he was moved to different prisons out of concern for safety – and his ability to break prison rules.

WHAT IS CANADA ACCUSING HIM OF?

Canada has not made specific accusations, but the RCMP said there was “specific targeting” of those who support Khalistan in the country.

He cited the Bishnoi organized crime group as having claimed responsibility for some of these actions and accused it of being linked to Indian agents.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER CASES AGAINST HIM?

Bishnoi and his associates face multiple charges of murder, extortion and terrorism.

The NIA said it wanted to unleash a wave of terror through targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, film stars, singers and businessmen.

Some high-profile cases include the 2022 murder of a popular Punjabi rapper named Sidhu Moose Wala, who the NIA blamed on Bishnoi’s associates.

Police, who arrested more than 20 people, named Bishnoi as one of the main suspects, media reports said.

In a video released by media outlets, Bishnoi threatened to kill actor Salman Khan, an icon of India’s Bollywood film industry, in 2018. Shots were fired near Khan’s house this year. Bishnoi, however, did not comment on the issue.

Police arrested two armed men over an attack they said was at the behest of Bishnoi’s group.

On Saturday, gunmen in the economic capital of Mumbai shot dead an MP named Baba Siddique before fleeing.

An individual claiming to be from Bishnoi’s group claimed responsibility for the killing in a Facebook post. Police officials have since told media that Bishnoi was behind the plot, without citing evidence.

WHAT IS BISHNOI’S POSITION?

Bishnoi’s lawyer Rajani, who uses only one name, said he faces about 40 cases of murder, extortion and terrorism-related charges, dating back to 2012, across the country. ‘India.

He has contested the charges, and trials in many of the cases have not yet begun, she added.