Canadas Sikh community criticizes India over new report on activist killing

Vancouver Consular Officials Linked to Hardeep Singh Nijjar Assassination, Report Suggests

A recent report by The Globe and Mail has alleged that Indian consular officials in Vancouver were involved in the 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh separatist activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. According to the newspaper, a visa officer at the Indian consulate in Vancouver is believed to have used their position to gather information about Nijjar, which was then shared with an external intelligence agency (RAW) officer in New Delhi.

The report claims that this information was communicated to a criminal group known as the Bishnoi gang, which has been linked to various crimes in Canada. A Canada-based member of the gang allegedly helped arrange Nijjar’s fatal shooting outside a Sikh gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and consulate in Toronto have not commented on the allegations. Periasamy Kumaran, a secretary in the Indian External Affairs Ministry, stated that India “categorically rejects allegations of involvement in transnational violence or organised crime”.

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) has expressed concern over the report, urging Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to investigate the killing and extend it beyond the gunmen to those who directed it. The WSO also criticized Carney’s recent visit to India, which saw him meet with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Nijjar was a prominent leader in the Khalistan movement, which advocates for a sovereign Sikh state in India’s Punjab region. His case has sparked controversy between Canada and India, with both countries accusing each other of involvement in his killing.

Source: Al Jazeera