A Canadian official, on Tuesday, claimed that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah directed a campaign involving violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering against Sikh separatists in Canada.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison informed members of Parliament’s national security committee that he confirmed Shah’s involvement to The Washington Post, which initially reported the allegations.
Morrison stated, “The journalist called me to verify if it was Shah. I confirmed it was.”
However, Morrison did not disclose how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.
A year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted that Canada had credible evidence implicating Indian government agents in the June 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Canadian authorities have consistently stated they shared evidence with Indian officials.
Indian authorities have repeatedly denied receiving any evidence and dismissed the allegations. India’s embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations against Shah.
On 14 October, Canada expelled the Indian High Commissioner and five other diplomats, accusing them of involvement in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation, and violence aimed at suppressing the campaign for an independent Sikh state, known as Khalistan.
Canada is not alone in accusing Indian officials of plotting assassinations abroad. In mid-October, the United States Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee for an alleged plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York City.
In that case, Vikash Yadav, who allegedly directed the plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges for a planned assassination that prosecutors previously said was intended to be the first of several politically motivated killings in the United States and Canada.
Trudeau’s national security adviser, Nathalie Drouin, told the committee that Canada has evidence of the Indian government gathering information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada via diplomatic channels and proxies.
She explained that this information was then relayed to New Delhi, which allegedly collaborates with a criminal network linked to Lawrence Bishnoi.
Although Bishnoi is currently imprisoned in India, Drouin said his extensive criminal network has been connected to homicides, assassination plots, coercion, and other violent crimes in Canada.
Before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police publicly identified Indian diplomats as persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an attempt to collaborate with the Indian government for accountability.
A meeting with Modi’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, was held in Singapore two days prior.
Drouin said the decision to go public was made when it became clear that India would not cooperate with Canada on proposed accountability measures, which included a request to waive diplomatic immunity for those involved, including the High Commissioner in Ottawa. She indicated this was unlikely to happen.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated they took the unusual step of publicly discussing ongoing investigations due to threats to public safety.
The Indian government has denied the allegations and retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats.
An Indian-born citizen of Canada, Nijjar, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after leaving the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. He owned a plumbing business and was a prominent figure in the dwindling movement for an independent Sikh homeland.
Four Indian nationals living in Canada have been charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial.
Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses before the committee alongside Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme and the director of Canada’s spy agency.
Frances Ibiefo
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