New Delhi: Canadian police are expected to make their first arrests in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the case that caused a diplomatic strife between New Delhi and Ottawa.
Citing anonymous sources, The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday, that two men who are believed to have shot Nijjar never left Canada and are under police surveillance. They will likely be arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the upcoming few weeks.
Nijjar, the chief of pro-separatist outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was shot outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on 18 June by two unidentified gunmen. In the roughly six months since the killing, no one has been charged in the case yet. Apart from the description of the assailants as “two heavier set males”, no new information regarding the identities of the suspects had been revealed so far.
A Washington Post report from September, citing 90-second footage from a security camera from the scene, revealed how two masked men in hooded sweatshirts appeared from “under a covered waiting area” and approached Nijjar before shooting him approximately 50 times. The two gunmen then escaped in a silver 2008 Toyota Camry, along with three other men.
One of the witnesses present at the scene during the attack, Malkit Singh described the assailants as wearing a “a Sikh get-up with hoodies pulled over small ‘pughs’ (turbans) on their heads and masks over their bearded faces.” While one of the men, just over five feet tall and heavy set, was struggling to run fast, the other was about 4 inches taller and leaner, he added, the report said.
The police will explain the alleged gunmens’ involvement as well as of the Indian government when the two are charged, The Globe and Mail reported.
Ties between India and Canada have been strained over the past year, since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau allegations on 18 September, linking New Delhi with the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi had rejected Ottawa’s allegations about the killing of Nijjar, calling them “absurd and motivated”. Consequently, the two countries expelled each other’s diplomats.
The US Justice Department unsealed an indictment on 29 November before a New York district court, accusing Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta and an unnamed Indian government employee in a “failed plot” to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual American-Canadian citizen. Gupta, 52, was arrested by Czech authorities on 30 June.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the US indictment in the alleged plot to kill Pannun has forced India to adopt a “sober tone” even with Canada.
“We (Canada) don’t want to be in a situation of having a fight with India right now over this. We want to be working on that trade deal. We want to be advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy,” Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as part of his year-end interview. “But it is foundational for Canada to stand up for people’s rights, for people’s safety, and for the rule of law.”
India had designated Pannun, the founder of the banned US-based Sikhs for Justice group, a terrorist in 2020.
Commenting on the unsealed indictment, New Delhi in November termed the issue a “matter of concern” and “contrary” to Indian government policy. Roughly a week before the indictment was unsealed, it announced the setting up of a ‘high-level’ inquiry committee on 18 November to probe “all relevant aspects of the matter”.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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