New Delhi: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Michael Duheme Monday accused Indian diplomats of being linked with murder, extortion, intimidation and other crimes in Canada against members of the South Asian diaspora, specifically “pro-Khalistan” individuals, in a press conference held Monday.
“Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion,” said Duheme in a statement to the press.
The RCMP commissioner added: “Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community.”
Duheme, accompanied by assistant commissioner Brigitte Gauvin, alleged that Indian diplomats were involved in clandestine activities and that the same information was shared with Indian officials over the weekend but this did not yield any results.
Deputy Commissioner of Federal Policing Mark Flynn, National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison were part of the Canadian delegation that met with Indian officials Saturday, Duheme said.
Gauvin further alleged that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, most recently linked with the killing of senior politician Baba Siddique, has been cooperating with the Indian government in its operations across Canada.
The two senior police officers also said that at least 30 people have been charged with crimes related to Canada’s investigations into criminal activities against the South Asian diaspora, while at least 13 people within the North American country have been warned of threats against them.
Earlier Monday, India withdrew its envoy, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and other “targeted” diplomats and officials from the country, after they were named “persons of interest” in Canadian investigations into foreign interference as well as the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar—the India-designated terrorist who was gunned down in June 2023.
According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, the Canadian chargé d’affaires in New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, was summoned earlier Monday evening and informed that the “baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada” was “completely unacceptable.”
However, Wheeler, speaking to the media after exiting the Ministry of External Affairs, said that Canada had provided “irrefutable evidence” of ties between Indian officials and the killing of Nijjar in Canada.
Hours later, Wheeler, along with five other Canadian diplomats including Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert, were expelled from India by the MEA. They have been given time till 11:59 pm on 19 October to depart the country.
Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi have hit a rough patch since September 2023, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities were investigating the credible allegations of Indian government officials being linked with the killing of Nijjar.
Four Indians have been arrested and charged with the crime. The MEA in a statement Monday maintained that the investigation by Canadian authorities into the alleged links was a “deliberate strategy” to “smear” India for political gains.