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.

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.

The MEA had given the names of Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh Gill, Lakhbir Singh Landa, Gurpreet Singh for extradition, saying that the members of the Bishnoi gang were among them.

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.

Significantly, while rejecting Canada's allegations linking Indian diplomats to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India also underlined its “strong and vibrant” economic ties with Canada.

They haven’t taken any action on our core concerns…There is a political motive also behind this,’ said the Ministry of External Affairs.

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

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 on Thursday said it had shared with the Canadian government security-related information regarding members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and other gangs, seeking their arrest, but so far “no action” has been taken by Ottawa.