'No amount of money' sufficient to stem risk of alleged Bishnoi gang member's release: lawyer

'No amount of money' sufficient to stem risk of alleged Bishnoi gang member's release: lawyer

FBI documents claim Karamveer Singh responsible for 2024 shooting and arson attack at singer's home

An accused murderer with ties to senior Bishnoi gang members represents too great a risk for release, a lawyer for Canada's Minister of Public Safety told a Federal Court judge Friday.

Jocelyn Espejo Clarke told Justice Denis Gascon that FBI documents link 40-year-old Karamveer Singh to the extortion of Punjabi singers, and accuse him of ordering a 2024 shooting and arson attack at the Victoria-area home of popular musician AP Dhillon.

Espejo Clarke made the claims at a last-minute application by the government to stop Singh's release from a Toronto immigration holding centre as he fights deportation to India where he faces trial on a 2012 murder charge.

In addition to oral arguments, the government's filings include FBI surveillance photographs of Singh together at a California residence with jailed gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi's brother and alleged accomplice Anmol Bishnoi, who has since been deported to India.

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The Public Safety Minister claims Singh's release plan depends on the supervision of his two sisters guaranteeing bonds worth $110,000 — despite questions about the source of their funds.

"Its our position that the law enforcement authorities have provided sufficient grounds for this court to consider the public safety risk should this individual be released," Espejo Clarke told Gascon during a two-hour virtual hearing.

"No amount of money would be sufficient if this issue is not considered properly by the court."

Immigration proceedings underway

Lawyers for the Public Safety Minister applied last week to stay an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) decision ordering Singh's release on house arrest, under electronic monitoring pending the outcome of his legal attempts to remain in Canada.

They want Singh kept behind bars as they argue a judicial review of the release order itself, which Espejo Clarke claimed was "unreasonable, unintelligible and unjustified based on the record."

At the conclusion of the hearing, Gascon said he would either issue a decision later Friday with reasons to follow, or extend an order halting the release until he delivers a ruling next week.

According to the court filings, Singh was charged with murder in 2012 in relation to the shooting of a political figure in Punjab.

He absconded from India in 2019 while on bail for the murder charge, making an illegal entry into the United States through Mexico. Singh applied for asylum in the U.S., but was rejected.

While Singh was in California, the FBI claims Lawrence Bishnoi gave him "the responsibility to care for his brother, Anmol Bishnoi." The FBI also claims Singh financed a Canadian jewelry shop that has the same address as the one where his sister and brother-in-law work.

After the U.S. issued an exclusion order, Singh made an unauthorized crossing into Canada in January 2025 — where he was found ineligible to make a refugee claim, resulting in another deportation order.

He has several immigration proceedings underway, including an application for permanent residence through his spouse and a pre-removal risk assessment related to his deportation.

'Speculation about gang membership'

Singh has denied the allegations against him.

His lawyer, Faraz Bawa, told Gascon Friday the IRB member who ordered Singh's release was aware of what he called the "microscopic forensic attack" on his two siblings and the "speculation about gang membership."

"I can’t see where we’re making the jump that the funds here are problematic," said Bawa.

Bawa acknowledged the FBI reports — which were not part of the evidence before the IRB tribunal member — but said the agency's conclusions about his client's role in extortion were unsubstantiated.

"I don’t know that there’s anything there that established how those conclusions were reached," Bawa told the judge.

He said Singh has complied with release orders in Canada in the past and has not been charged with any crimes in Canada, although he entered into a peace bond that saw a no-contact order with his wife.

The court file includes a statutory declaration Singh wrote from Toronto's Immigration Holding Centre, claiming he is a victim of "corrupt" Indian justice and politics that left him no choice but to flee the country because he felt his life and liberty were at risk.

"What the court says happened is like a Bollywood movie and is not what happened at all," he says.

"I did not kill anyone. I was falsely implicated in this case."

Singh claims he has never been been charged with a crime, "other than the false charges in India," though he does acknowledge the peace bond that resulted in a no-contact order with his wife last January.

'I regret meeting Anmol Bishnoi'

Singh claims he was introduced to Anmol Bishnoi by a friend.

"I regret meeting Anmol Bishnoi and spending time with him. He has a 'big name' and maybe there was some kind of fascination by me of hanging out with him. This was very foolish," Singh wrote, calling his decision to spend time with the gangster "a grave error in judgment."

"But I can say that no gang or criminal activity ever took place in my presence ... I admit that even my casual social ties with individuals with serious criminal charges or history was a serious mistake on my part and I regret it heavily."

Anmol Bishnoi fled India in 2022 for the United States, where India's National Investigation Agency accuses him of continuing to run "terror syndicates and execute terrorist acts from the U.S. for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, using its operatives on the ground."

He was deported from the U.S. to India in November 2025.

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In the declaration written from immigration custody, Singh claims Anmol Bishnoi's presence at his wedding became widely known after a video of his engagement went viral.

"This will be used as proof positive by the Indian government and security agencies that I am a Bishnoi gang member and this will mean risk to my life if I return," Singh wrote.

Since coming to Canada, Singh claims he has committed himself to political activities, speaking at rallies in support of Sikh rights — activity he hopes to continue if he is allowed to stay in Canada.

Jason Proctor is a reporter in British Columbia for CBC News who has covered the B.C. courts and justice system extensively.