New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday said his government is “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau has not made any mention of whom his government believes killed Nijjar, who was accused by Indian authorities to be at the heart of terrorist activities operating in Punjab.
Despite Trudeau’s statement on the floor of parliament, the Canadian investigating agencies have been silent since the shooting on 18 June in Surrey, British Columbia.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), investigating the killing, have made no public statements since 16 August.
No one has been charged in the case yet. All that has been shared by the IHIT in public on 21 June is that “two heavier set males” with faces covered fled the crime scene on foot. There has been no information regarding the identities of the suspects.
On 16 August, the IHIT identified a silver 2008 Toyota Camry as the vehicle in which the two suspects made their escape. It had also identified a potential third individual involved in the killing as the driver of the vehicle.
“The claim made by Prime Minister Trudeau is that ‘credible allegations’ have been made, not credible evidence. Till date, there has been no information released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the identities of the suspects or on the case at all,” Institute of Conflict Management executive director Ajai Sahni told ThePrint.
“My question is why is this allegation more credible than other allegations such as the fact that Nijjar was killed as a result of gang-related violence, violent gurdwara politics, or because of suspicion over his role in the killing Ripudaman Singh Malik in 2022?”
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Dubious past of Nijjar
Hardeep Singh Nijjar moved to Canada from India in 1997 as a ‘plumber’. He soon rose to lead the pro-Khalistan outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and the head of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia as reported by ThePrint earlier.
Nijjar is said to have played a key role in recruitment, training and financing the KTF. He is said to have risen to his position as the chief of the Gurdwara by force.
Associates linked to Nijjar claimed that he had received warnings from the Canadian intelligence services before his killing, according to Toronto Star.
Sahni explained to ThePrint that Nijjar’s killing was the latest in a spree of deaths of senior pro-Khalistani members, including Paramjit Singh Panjwar in Pakistan and Avtar Singh Khanda in London. Questions have been raised in linking the three deaths to the Indian state, he said.
“The only death of the three Khalistani leaders to be investigated thoroughly and concluded was that of Avtar Singh Khanda. It was proven to be of natural causes – specifically cancer,” Sahni told ThePrint.
He added that Nijjar’s killing is similar to the death of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was shot on 14 July 2022.
Malik was an accused in the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people. He was acquitted in 2005 and later even visited India in 2019 after his name was removed from the blacklist of 312 Sikhs living abroad.
‘Requires evidence that stands up to international scrutiny’
Sahni said to ThePrint that for a Prime Minister to state what he did on the floor of the Canadian parliament requires “credible evidence that stands up to international scrutiny”.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has already rejected the allegations made by Trudeau, calling them “absurd and motivated.” “Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said in a statement.
Sahni further explained that such statements by the Canadian prime minister would colour any investigation by the RCMP. “Of course there will now be pressure on the RCMP to colour the investigation. The executive government has both formal and informal power, this being a case of the latter,” he added.
“There is no evidence to support any “credible allegation” raised by the Prime Minister of Canada till date. This seems to be a systematic campaign to denigrate India globally,” he asserted.
With inputs from Raghav Bikhchandani
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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