The MEA had informed Canada about the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its syndicates and requested their provisional arrest and extradition some years back, and also recently.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in response to a query during his weekly briefing as he fielded questions on India-Canada ties, a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified before a Commission of Inquiry.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that similar extradition requests of syndicates linked to the Bishnoi gang were made recently as well, but Canada has not responded yet.

In the wake of the ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, both countries expelled six diplomats from each side in a tit-for-tat move. The actions followed accusations from Canada, which claimed that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year near

Stating that the Canadian government has not taken any action on India's core concerns, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "There is a political motive also behind this".

India had sought the extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members from Canada but is yet to receive a response from Ottawa, the MEA said Thursday.

Canadian officials this week said Bishnoi’s gang was targeting Sikh dissidents at the behest of the Indian government.

The MEA spokesperson says the current diplomatic row with Canada has been precipitated by the Trudeau government's 'baseless' allegations, and reiterated that 'no evidence' has been shared in support

India and Canada expelled six of each others' diplomats in tit-for-tat moves after Ottawa accused Indian government agents of links to the 2023 murder of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),