In leaked audio, fugitive gangster Goldy Brar heard claiming role in Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing

New Delhi: US-based gangster Goldy Brar has claimed responsibility for the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023, according to a purported leaked audio conversation with pro-Khalistan terrorist Paramjit Singh Pamma.

In the leaked conversation, Brar is heard allegedly saying that Nijjar was targeted over his alleged involvement in drug trafficking and promotion of drug abuse among young people. Intelligence sources have reportedly confirmed that the voice in the audio is Brar’s.

Brar, who is wanted in India in connection with several criminal cases, including the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

In the leaked audio, he is reportedly heard saying that Nijjar’s alleged promotion of drugs among teenagers had angered him. The reported admission has emerged amid renewed attention on the circumstances surrounding Nijjar’s killing and an ongoing international crackdown on transnational organised crime networks.

The investigation under Operation Hardball, a joint US-Canada law enforcement operation targeting transnational criminal syndicates, has also brought renewed focus on the activities of Brar and jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The US investigation has alleged links between members of the Bishnoi network and the killing of Nijjar, with the high-profile assassination being examined in the context of organised crime.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The killing triggered a major diplomatic crisis between India and Canada after allegations were made about a possible connection between Indian government agents and the assassination. India has rejected those allegations.

Nijjar had been designated a wanted terrorist by India several years before his death. His activities and alleged links to the pro-Khalistan movement had remained a matter of concern for Indian security agencies.

The latest purported audio recording, if independently authenticated, could add a new dimension to the investigation into Nijjar’s killing by presenting an alleged gang-related motive.

Brar has been wanted by Indian authorities in connection with multiple serious criminal cases and is considered a key figure associated with transnational gang networks. His alleged links with Lawrence Bishnoi and other organised crime figures have been the subject of investigations in India and abroad.

Earlier in July, a senior Canadian law enforcement official said that investigators have found no evidence linking Indian government officials to the US investigation that charged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and dozens of other members of three organised crime groups.

The clarification came after US authorities unsealed three federal indictments charging 37 defendants linked to transnational criminal organisations with offences including racketeering, murder, extortion, kidnappings and drug trafficking following a years-long multinational investigation spanning the United States, Canada and Europe.

IANS