Following reports that United States Justice Department will seek the extradition of incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa has demanded an independent international investigation into the 2023 killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

According to the US move, which directly links Bishnoi to Nijjar’s assassination in Canada, Dal Khalsa said it reinforces the belief within the Sikh diaspora that the conspiracy to eliminate the activist was orchestrated from New Delhi.

Reacting to the developments, the radical Sikh separatist group strongly condemned what it called a growing nexus between organised crime syndicates and state authorities.

Speaking on the issue, Dal Khalsa leader Paramjit Singh Mand said an unsealed US indictment charging Bishnoi and his fugitive associate Goldy Brar with directing Nijjar’s murder validates the group’s long-held position. Dal Khalsa argues that these criminal networks are being used as hired proxies and “state assets” to target, terrorise and eliminate pro-Khalistan activists on foreign soil.

Mand also questioned how such networks continue to operate globally despite their alleged masterminds being jailed in India.

“Despite Bishnoi’s incarceration under high security in a Gujarat prison, his criminal network has expanded across India and several foreign countries. This is perhaps the clearest indication that such a network could not have grown to this extent without protection, facilitation, or patronage from sections of the deep state,” Mand said.

Demanding immediate accountability, Dal Khalsa has called on Western governments to initiate an international probe into the transnational network behind political assassinations.

The organisation also urged New Delhi to officially clarify its position and address the US findings directly, instead of dismissing them. Dal Khalsa maintained that the alleged collusion between criminal syndicates and secret state operatives poses a serious and immediate threat to the safety of the global Sikh diaspora.