How gangs connected to India are terrorizing a California immigrant community - BERITAJA

Last fall, Harsimran Singh was good connected his measurement to bringing 15,000 fans to Stockton for an world tourney of the ancient Indian athletics Kabaddi.

Then, suddenly, athletes started dropping out.

They seemed to manufacture excuses to debar the sport’s world cup. As president of the American Kabaddi Federation, Singh felt progressively shaken arsenic the cancellations mounted. He began pressing for answers.

He learned from athletes, and past from rule enforcement officers, that personification was threatening players to style the result of the event. They received telephone calls from gangsters, galore of them incarcerated successful Indian prisons, who directed them not to participate, and warned of consequences if they defied the orders.

“The players were very afraid; if they sewage a call, they didn’t want to spell against gangsters. They were unwilling to play because they didn’t want to discuss their ain information and their family’s security,” Harsimran Singh said.

The intimidation of Singh’s tourney was not an isolated incident. It was, arsenic he would travel to understand, portion of a overmuch larger activity of world threats, extortion and unit targeting Indian and Punjabi Sikhs crossed California.

The method is straightforward: a pack personnel calls a unfortunate and demands money. If they refuse, a criminal web threatens aliases carries retired attacks against their relatives, families, aliases businesses — whether successful the United States aliases backmost successful India.

Over 250,000 Sikhs unrecorded successful California, the largest organization successful the U.S. Like different members of the diaspora, they clasp beardown ties to India, pinch galore regularly travelling to sojourn their families aliases ancestral homes.

California rule enforcement agencies opportunity the operation of wealth, tight relationships and cross-border activity has made them charismatic targets for criminal networks pinch roots successful India’s bluish and occidental states — Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi and Rajasthan.

Police successful India told CalMatters that the gangs often target “real property developers, liquor contractors, transporters, and section businessmen” — group pinch higher incomes aliases assets. “One of the superior reasons is the ample Indian diaspora successful California, which provides a grade of anonymity and societal cover,” a spokesperson for an organized crime task unit successful India’s Haryana authorities said successful a written statement.

The FBI Sacramento section office, began sounding alarms successful early May 2024, urging members of the Central Valley’s Indian organization to study these sorts of shakedowns.

“In caller extortion attempts, subjects demanded a ample sum of money and threatened beingness unit aliases decease if the request was not met,” the FBI said successful a connection astatine the time.

At slightest 2 homicides successful California person been connected to the criminal networks targeting group from the Indian diaspora. Two suspected members of the Lawrence Bishnoi pack — described by the FBI arsenic India’s about wanted criminal statement — were killed successful Stockton and Fresno, according to section rule enforcement agencies.

San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said that the criminal shape was dissimilar a web pinch purely home roots. “Most of them person an world type of nexus to them, wherever it stretches backmost to India because the threats are being made to family members and businesses backmost there,” he said.

Withrow explained that the first demands were deliberately calibrated to debar triggering a constabulary response. “They usually commencement pinch amounts betwixt $4,000 and $7,000 — they fig that that’s a scope that personification mightiness salary and still not interaction the police,” Withrow said. “The unfortunate families, sometimes paid, pinch a calculation that a azygous costs would protect their family and business successful India and the United States arsenic well.”

It seldom worked retired that way. “Most of the time, a fewer months later, the extortion unit will travel backmost and want much money again,” Withrow said.

Withrow said his agency has been receiving about 2 extortion related cases per period complete the past twelvemonth aliases two. His agency successful July arrested 8 alleged members of a pack led by Pavittar Preet Singh, who successful India faces charges related to firearms violations, assaults and homicides.

India’s about wanted

At the halfway of the criminal operation, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, commonly known arsenic the Bishnoi gang, has members crossed India, the United States, and Canada.

Bishnoi pack leader, Lawrence Bishnoi, is incarcerated successful an Indian prison, but federal investigators successful caller criminal indictments opportunity he has continued to nonstop his world web of extortion and target killings by utilizing encrypted messaging applications, cross-border coordination and a cadre of U.S.-based associates to extort victims successful some countries.

Investigators judge Lawrence Bishnoi is capable to entree to contraband cellphones and oversee the criminal activities of the Bishnoi pack contempt Indian authorities placing him successful a shape of custodial confinement.

In December 2023, Lawrence Bishnoi personally contacted an extortion unfortunate via an audio call, according to the FBI, past turned connected his camera to corroborate his personality to the victim. The unfortunate captured a screenshot, a uncommon documentary grounds linking Lawrence Bishnoi straight to an extortion threat.

The FBI recovered that U.S.-based Bishnoi pack members and associates routinely utilized WhatsApp and Signal to relay threats and demands to victims successful India. “If the victims do not pay, Bishnoi pack members and associates put to person members successful India behaviour shootings of the victims, their associates, their residences, and their businesses,” the national agency said successful a November indictment against an alleged pack member.

In November 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Anmol Bishnoi — Lawrence Bishnoi’s younger relative — successful Nebraska, according to the FBI.

Indian authorities allege he played a cardinal domiciled successful 2 of India’s about sensational homicides: the sidesplitting of globally acclaimed Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala successful May 2022 successful Punjab and of Baba Saddique, a salient leader and erstwhile Maharashtra authorities minister.

Within weeks of Anmol’s arrest, Sunil Yadav, an Indian nationalist and a suspected personnel of the Bishnoi gang, was killed successful Stockton. In Fresno, Banwari Godara — a suspected Bishnoi pack subordinate — was fatally changeable adjacent a motortruck repair gait connected Oct. 18.

The homicides took a transnational move successful January, erstwhile Indian authorities announced the apprehension of 4 suspects allegedly responsible for the 2 killings. According to Indian investigators, the suspects were members of a pack that is simply a rival to Bishnoi’s. Investigators judge the suspects fled the U.S. aft the killings. Law enforcement agencies successful California person not announced arrests aliases suspects successful the homicides.

Police successful Sacramento County nexus the Indian-based gangs to 20 shootings successful the past 4 years, according to Sheriff’s Detective Steve Hernandez.

Enforcement actions continued passim 2025 pinch aggregate arrests reported by the FBI and the California Highway Patrol. In April 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel trumped the apprehension by FBI Sacramento of Harpeet Singh, who Patel described arsenic an alleged violent responsible for attacks successful Punjab, and besides linked to 2 world violent groups.

A California-based Sikh businessman told CalMatters he received an extortion request from a Bishnoi pack personnel based successful the Central Valley. The unfortunate has been receiving calls for the past 2 and a half months, he said connected information of anonymity because of the threats he faces.

The gangster astatine 1 constituent demanded $1 million, he said.

“It has had a psychological effect connected my life; it has restricted me, and I can’t move freely if I person to recreation to India,” he said. The man has reported the threats to constabulary successful Fresno and to the FBI.

Threats followed unfortunate to Canada

One of the about caller cases involves Jasmeet Singh, an Indian nationalist who was surviving successful the Stockton and Fresno areas erstwhile he allegedly made a bid of threats to a unfortunate who had relocated to Canada from India, according to a December indictment successful national court.

The unfortunate retained an Indian telephone number aft moving to Canada. Months later, Jasmeet Singh obtained that number to unleash a bid of threats via telephone calls and sound messages, and became furious aft learning that the unfortunate had cooperated pinch Indian rule enforcement, the indictment said.

Jasmeet Singh.

(United States District Court for the Eastern District of California)

Jasmeet Singh reportedly identified the victim’s conveyance arsenic a achromatic Range Rover, showing a surveillance capacity that spanned world borders.

“You’re going to dice successful Canada. I won’t moreover time off you could of going to India,” Jasmeet Singh told the victim, according to the indictment.

“Go kick to whoever you want to kick to, spell kick complete location too. We’ll termination you complete location too,” Jasmeet Singh said successful a sound connection sent that day.

Although Jasmeet Singh did not straight mention the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s sanction during those alleged calls, the FBI concluded that the quality and discourse of the threats — specifically the references to the victim’s practice pinch rule enforcement — bespeak Jasmeet Singh’s relation pinch the gang.

The investigation was triggered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who had initially flagged Jasmeet Singh’s behaviour and shared accusation pinch their American counterparts, which triggered the FBI’s investigation.

He was arrested and taken into national custody successful December and is awaiting trial. His adjacent tribunal day is successful May. His lawyer has not responded to CalMatters’ requests for comment.

Naindeep Singh, executive head of the Jakara Movement, a salient Sikh defense group based successful California, described transnational extortion gangs arsenic being progressive successful the authorities for immoderate time.

Many Sikh organization members “choose to stay silent because of a fearfulness of reprisal to them, their body, their business, and to their loved ones successful the United States aliases India,” said Naindeep Singh.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged this under-reporting. “We judge location are much crimes occurring than we person records of,” a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.

Naindeep Singh and different organization members person approached Fresno constabulary and national agents to raise the siren about the extortion attempts.

Security astatine Kabbadi tournament

Back successful Stockton, Harsimran Singh sat successful his business office, explaining to a visitant that his world cup arena went guardant aft all.

The sport, portion tag and portion wrestling, has been plagued successful caller years by a bid of murders successful India involving players and various organized crime factions, moreover arsenic its fame has mounted successful California.

Harsimran Singh, president of the American Kabaddi Federation, astatine his agency astatine a trucking gait successful Stockton.

(Larry Valenzuela / CalMatters)

Harsimran Singh believes the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria pack that targeted his tournament. Its leader, Jaggu Bhagwanpura, is successful situation successful India.

“The rule enforcement officials besides wanted america to beryllium careful, and we had to prosecute a batch of information and make judge everything went smoothly,” he said.

Police and FBI agents showed up to supplement the backstage guards, moreover though Harsimran Singh ne'er revenge a general title pinch them.

“We do not want to prosecute successful immoderate of these activities that could harm our spot aliases our lives. We would want to debar that,” Harsimran Singh said.

The information held.

Gagandeep Singh writes for CalMatters.