NEW DELHI: India has become a global hub for criminal networks due to poor oversight and weak legislation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
India is facing severe international criticism over the proliferation of its criminal networks, a trend attributed to the failed policies of the Modi government.
According to the international publication The Tennessean, India has emerged as the primary centre for cross-border cyber fraud, targeting foreign nationals through fake call centres.
The report stated that criminal call centres operating from Indian soil are swindling American citizens through organised cyber fraud.
A report published by the Vietnamese news outlet VnExpress International noted that an Indian passenger was arrested at Bangkok Airport for smuggling $76,000, in violation of Thailand’s foreign exchange control laws.
Experts in international security affairs said that the illicit transfer of thousands of US dollars serves as clear evidence of the incompetence and failure of Indian customs authorities.
India’s expanding fraud network highlights the global spread of financial crimes, digital deception, and organised criminal activities.
The arrest of 24 suspects across the United States, Canada and Europe under the US-led Operation Hard Ball is another reminder of the sprawl of India’s organised crime.
Take the example of Lawrence Bishnoi, leader of one of India’s most fearsome gangs and imprisoned for the better part of a decade.
Bishnoi allegedly has a whole barrack in the jail to himself and freely communicates with his lieutenants on the outside.
Bishnoi has been in Indian custody since 2015. Yet, American investigators say he continued directing criminal operations from prison using smuggled mobile phones, encrypted messaging applications and trusted intermediaries. These allegations raise uncomfortable questions about India’s prison administration, policing and intelligence systems.
How does an inmate serving time in a high-security prison acquire the ability to supervise an international organisation spanning multiple continents?
The question becomes even more troubling when viewed against the scale of the charges. US prosecutors say the syndicate coordinated extortion, drug trafficking, firearms smuggling, money laundering and contract killings.
Canadian authorities accuse it of threatening police, demanding “protection taxes” from South Asian business owners and retaliating with shootings against those refusing to pay.
Such operations require logistics, financial networks, international couriers and constant communications — not the capabilities normally associated with someone behind bars.
The investigation also carries important diplomatic implications. One indictment accuses Bishnoi and his close associate Goldy Brar of orchestrating the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, Canada.
The case also follows the US prosecution over the murder-for-hire plot targeting Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in which American authorities charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta and later indicted former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav. The cases demonstrate increasing Western scrutiny of security and criminal activities emanating from India.
