Federal Court cancels 'unreasonable' release order for accused murderer with alleged ties to the Bishnoi gang

OTTAWA — A Federal Court judge cancelled an “unreasonable” order to release an accused murderer and international fugitive with alleged ties to India’s infamous Bishnoi gang pending the end of his immigration legal process.

In a stern decision issued Monday, Federal Court judge Phuong T.V. Ngo slapped down a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ordering the release of Karamveer Singh on certain conditions while he fights a deportation order against him.

Ngo found that the release decision failed to account for many serious concerns with the provenance of over $100,000 in bonds for his release by his two sisters. She also noted that the conditions for Singh’s release did not assuage ongoing concerns that he is both a flight risk and a “danger to the Canadian public.”

“The Decision does not provide reasons that justify the sisters’ credibility, and thus, their suitability as bondspersons and ability to exert any control over their brother. Without sufficient reasons, the Court cannot conclude that there was an analysis sufficiently robust to ensure that the public will not be exposed to any material risk of harm,” wrote Ngo.

Ngo’s ruling makes it clear that Singh’s proceeding isn’t your run-of-the-mill deportation case. In immigration court, Singh has denied all the allegations of wrongdoing against him.

Singh fled India in 2019 while released on bail after he was charged with murder, a charge he denied and claims is linked to political persecution. “(Singh) was charged with murder in India and absconded bail, leaving the country before trial. He is an international fugitive of justice,” reads Ngo’s decision.

He is also allegedly a member of the Bishnoi gang, a transnational criminal organization listed as a terrorist entity by Ottawa last fall due to its links to a slew of violent crimes in Canada in recent years.

In fact, U.S. FBI documents presented by the federal government in court go as far as suggesting Lawrence Bishnoi personally tasked Singh with “taking care of his brother in the U.S.,” according to a separate Federal Court decision on Singh’s case in July. The documents were first reported by CBC last month.

The FBI documents also suggest that Singh allegedly ordered a shooting and arson at the Victoria-area residence of popular Punjabi musician AP Dhillon in September 2024.

“This evidence… also notes that the FBI received information that Mr. Singh financed a jewelry store in Brampton owned by (his brother-in-law Gurdeep Singh) Dhaliwal and linked to the Bishnoi Gang’s operations,” reads the July Federal Court decision, which is also referenced by Ngo.

According to court records, after spending some time in the U.S. and Mexico, Singh entered Canada by foot between ports of entry in Quebec in January 2025 and made a refugee claim. But his request was quickly denied after it was discovered that he had already made such a claim in the United States.

The federal government began deportation proceedings against him, which are ongoing. Then on April 2, 2026, he was detained by border agents for removal because he was deemed both a flight risk and a danger to the public. Over the next month, the border agency would report that he had failed to report his criminal charges in India and the fact he was an international fugitive, as well as his alleged links to the Bishnoi gang.

“Mr. Singh vigorously denies these allegations and describes his interactions with members of the Bishnoi gang as merely ‘social contacts’ — rather than membership — that he regrets ‘heavily’,” reads a previous court decision in Singh’s case.

Then in June, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) agreed to release Singh from detention on certain conditions, including a $100,000 bond posted by one of his sisters and her husband Gurdeep Singh Dhaliwal. But CBSA said it was never able to appropriately trace the source of the funds being used for the cash bond and refused it.

So in July, another IRB member looked at Singh’s release plan as well as a renewed plan by Singh’s bondspeople to put up a $110,000 bond — including $10,000 in cash — and watch him while on house arrest.

Again, the IRB member granted Singh’s release despite there being many contradictions in the bondspeople’s testimonies and Singh remaining a flight risk and threat to the Canadian public, Ngo wrote. So, the Federal Court judge deemed the second IRB release order as “unreasonable” and quashed it.

Neither Singh’s lawyer nor a spokesperson for Public Safety Canada responded immediately to a request for comment.

The RCMP has said that the Bishnoi gang operates clandestinely in Canada, conducting violent crimes on behalf of the Government of India. The Bishnoi gang is led by infamous Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who operates a network of violent criminals from Indian prison.

Lawrence Bishnoi gained notoriety back in May 2022, when the gang allegedly murdered prominent Punjabi singer and rapper Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab. Police said Bishnoi’s colleague, Goldy Brar, allegedly orchestrated Moosewala’s killing from Canada.

The Bishnoi group has also claimed responsibility for attacks on the homes of two prominent Punjabi singers, AP Dhillon and Gippy Grewal, in B.C., over the past two years.

National Post

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