Lawrence Bishnoi gang ‘targeting’ Punjabi immigrants in California: US report

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By: Express News Service6 min readApr 18, 2026 12:05 PM IST A US-based investigation has revealed that criminal networks linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang are allegedly targeting Punjabi immigrants in California through extortion and threats to their families in India. (File Photo) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT Indian criminal networks, allegedly led by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, are systematically extorting and intimidating Punjabi immigrants in California’s Central Valley through cross-border threats of violence, according to a ground investigation by journalist Gagandeep Singh published by nonprofit news organisation CalMatters on April 15. The report, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle the following day, draws on interviews with victims, US and Indian law enforcement officials, court records and community leaders to expose a largely under-reported campaign of fear. It also highlights how the gangs allegedly exploit the diaspora’s deep family and business connections to Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, and Rajasthan. California is home to more than 2,50,000 Sikhs, the largest concentration in the United States. Indian police sources told CalMatters that typical targets are “real estate developers, liquor contractors, transporters, and local businessmen” who possess assets that make them vulnerable. A spokesperson for a Haryana organised crime task force said the large Indian diaspora in California offers “a degree of anonymity and social cover”. The extortion playbook is described as methodical. Operatives, allegedly directing operations from Indian prisons using smuggled cellphones and encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Signal, begin with relatively modest demands, typically between $4,000 and $7,000, calibrated to discourage immediate police reports. San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow told CalMatters: “Most of them have an international type of link to them, where it stretches back to India because the threats are being made to family members and businesses back there.” He added: “They usually start with amounts between $4,000 and $7,000, they figure that that’s a range that somebody might pay and still not contact the police.” His department has handled roughly two such cases per month in recent years. Victims who pay once frequently face renewed demands months later, Withrow said. One high-profile incident involved an international kabaddi tournament in Stockton last fall organised by Harsimran Singh, president of the American Kabaddi Federation. Athletes began withdrawing after allegedly receiving direct threats from gangsters incarcerated in India. Singh told CalMatters: “The players were very afraid; if they got a call, they didn’t want to go against gangsters. They were unwilling to play because they didn’t want to compromise their own safety and their family’s security.” The event ultimately proceeded with heightened security. At least two homicides in California have allegedly been linked to these networks. Sunil Yadav, described as a suspected Bishnoi gang member, was killed in Stockton, and Banwari Godara, described as another alleged associate, was shot dead in Fresno in October 2025. Indian authorities later arrested four suspects from a rival gang in connection with the killings. Sacramento County authorities have tied Indian-based gangs to about 20 shootings over the past four years. In July 2025, San Joaquin County arrested eight alleged members of a separate gang led by Pavittar Preet Singh. At the centre is Lawrence Bishnoi, whom the FBI has described as one of India’s most wanted criminals. Incarcerated for years in India, he allegedly continues to orchestrate operations through encrypted communications. Federal indictments allege that Bishnoi personally contacted victims, once activating his camera during a call to prove his identity. His brother, Anmol Bishnoi, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nebraska in November 2024 and is linked by Indian authorities to high-profile killings in India, including that of rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. A concrete example of the transnational dimension emerged in the case of Jasmeet Singh, an Indian national living in the Stockton-Fresno area. According to a federal indictment detailed in Gagandeep Singh’s CalMatters report, Jasmeet Singh allegedly made repeated WhatsApp threats against a victim who had relocated to Canada after cooperating with Indian police. The messages included: “You’re going to die in Canada. I won’t even leave you capable of going to India,” and “Go complain to whoever you want to complain to… We’ll kill you over there, too.” The FBI connected the threats to the Bishnoi gang following information shared by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Jasmeet Singh was arrested in December 2025. The Bishnoi gang was formally designated a “terrorist entity” by the Government of Canada in September 2025 under the Criminal Code, as announced by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. The designation cited the group’s use of “murder, shootings and arson” to generate “terror through extortion and intimidation” in diaspora communities. Canadian authorities have reported similar extortion patterns targeting Indian-origin families in British Columbia and other provinces. Community leaders in California have expressed concern over widespread under-reporting due to fear of reprisals. Naindeep Singh, executive director of the Jakara Movement, told CalMatters that many Sikh community members “choose to remain silent because of a fear of reprisal to them, their body, their business, and to their loved ones in the United States or India”. An anonymous Central Valley Sikh businessman who allegedly received escalating demands up to $1 million over two-and-a-half months described the “psychological impact”, saying it had “restricted me, and I can’t move freely if I have to travel to India”. He reported the case to local police and the FBI. US law enforcement has intensified efforts. The FBI Sacramento field office issued a public alert in May 2024 warning of extortion demands accompanied by threats of “physical violence or death”. In April 2025, the FBI arrested Harpreet Singh, described at the time by then-FBI director Kash Patel as an alleged terrorist with links to attacks in Punjab. Indian authorities have also acted against suspects allegedly tied to the California cases. Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram