Accused extortionist denies working for terrorist gang in India, claims to be victim

A 36-year-old accused of extorting a Winnipeg man on behalf of a criminal organization operated from a prison cell in India has denied he’s a member of the gang, instead arguing he is one of its victims.

A civil forfeiture lawsuit filed by the province in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench last month alleges Arshdeep Singh Brar, who was arrested earlier this year, claimed to be a member of the Bishnoi Gang when he tried to extort cash from the victim, who’s identified in court papers as a man of South Asian descent.

The gang, headed by convicted gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from behind bars in India, has an “established and growing presence in Canada,” says the claim.

It has been blamed in extortion cases across the country, largely in British Columbia, southern Ontario and Alberta. Gang members seek to obtain money from Indian-Canadian community members and business owners by intimidating them. At times, the incidents have escalated to shootings and arsons.

The gang, which carries out contract killings and sells drugs and guns, was deemed a terrorist organization by the Canadian government in 2025.

Brar is accused of calling the victim and mailing him a letter, demanding $150,000 cash be dropped at a location near Portage la Prairie, while claiming connections to the Indian gang.

But Brar, in a recent statement of defence in response to the lawsuit, denies he’s a member of the organization or that he actually contacted the victim by phone or letter.

“The defendant Brar pleads that any involvement he had in the transmission or delivery of a letter occurred under compulsion, threat or coercion from another person who identified themselves as a member of the Bishnoi Gang,” reads the defence filing.

He also denies he committed the criminal offences he’s been charged with, and says officials have not proven he participated in the criminal organization’s activities.

Brar was arrested by Winnipeg Police Service officers in Headingley on March 3 and charged with extortion and two firearms offences, says the claim.

Winnipeg police, notified of the extortion attempt, delivered a package to the drop-off location and followed Brar after he picked it up in a truck registered to his wife.

Officials said that in a videotaped police interview, Brar said he had sent the letter to the victim because he had been told to do so by a member of the gang.

The forfeiture filing appears to be the first public mention of the crime group — or people connected to it — operating in Manitoba.

The Manitoba forfeiture claim asks the court to allow the provincial government to seize a 2023 Ford F150 pickup truck registered to Brar’s wife, alleging Brar used it to commit the crimes with which he’s been charged.

Brar’s wife and Ford Credit Canada, which has an interest in the truck, are also named as defendants.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca