New Delhi:

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma on Friday shared a terrifying moment when Khalistani ‘goons’ came very close to bodily harm him and attacked him with a ‘sharp object’ – most likely a ‘kirpan’ – in Alberta that could potentially harm him.

In a podcast with ANI, Sanjay Verma shared his experience of threats and intimidation from the Khalistanis.

Sanjay Verma said, “All these attempts to harm me bodily, that was in the presence of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the local police and the local police on the ground took immediate action, pushed him away because there was a sharp weapon and the RCMP then whisked me from the side door to the venue.”

“It was in Alberta. I am not an expert on Canadian law about open carrying so I will not be able to say that. But most likely they would have said that it was ‘kirpan’ which is a small blade whereas they had swords in their hand. They could come very, very close to me,” said Mr Verma.

When asked if the incident was reported, Sanjay Verma said, “It was all reported and we were told that investigations are on.”

Speaking of intimidation from the Khalistanis, Sanjay Verma said that the intimidation came through banned organisations associated with the Khalistani extremists.

“Some came through emails during the so-called protests, which I call hooliganism when they gathered in front of the two consulates or the High Commission. They would shout slogans to intimidate us. Whenever we were attending public events, again, they would shout slogans to intimidate us,” he said.

Sharing an incident, Sanjay Verma said, “In one instance, close to Diwali, they created 10 heads for me, called me Ravan. And then my effigy was burnt as Ravan. Is that not hate speech? Then they created another poster of mine. And they riddled it with bullets. Is that not hate speech? Then what is it?”

“I reported this to the foreign ministry. The response was that we forwarded it to the relevant authorities, which is correct. We also do the same. But the report never came back. Okay. So we presume that nothing happened. So we presume that it went into a black box. Not to come out,” he stated.

When asked if he, at any point, felt threatened physically, Sanjay Verma replied, “Threatened, yes. But did I become threatened? No. In most of my public events, there will be these hooligans outside shouting slogans against India, but also against me. Some of them are very burly-looking tall guys who would also gesture to physically harm me, but just the gestures, except for a few incidents. And so they tried.”

“They came close to me. They tried to intimidate me through such, slogans shouting, and abusing me verbally. That was reported,” he stated.

Speaking about his security, Sanjay Verma said, “I had Canadian security, both federal and local.”

Asked about whether he, at any time, doubted their ability to protect him, he replied, “No, that I won’t say. They were very professional, well-trained, and very respectful. So as far as the police officers who were protecting us and now protecting my colleagues there, very, very professional, never had an iota of doubt on their professionalism.”

He added, “But unfortunately, the statement which we saw in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police press briefing, where even the investigation has not been concluded, that was a sad thing to see.”

Mr Verma said that he was there to serve India’s national interest and was committed to doing so.

“So diplomacy for most of us would be, you know, being nice, nice cities. But then the final objective of diplomacy happens to be to safeguard your national interest. National interest could be improving relationships. National interest could be raising awareness against these Khalistani goons. All these are national interests,” he said.

“So we work for the national interests. It so happened that my national interest was a bit different than the national interest of most other ambassadors in other countries,” said Sanjay Verma.

Mr Verma was recalled from Canada after the country said he was a person of interest in the case of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He denied all charges. 

The ties between India and Canada soured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma on Friday shared a terrifying moment when Khalistani ‘goons’ came very close to bodily harm him and attacked him with a ‘sharp object’ – most likely a ‘kirpan’ – in Alberta that could potentially harm him.

In a podcast with ANI, Sanjay Verma shared his experience of threats and intimidation from the Khalistanis.

Sanjay Verma said, “All these attempts to harm me bodily, that was in the presence of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the local police and the local police on the ground took immediate action, pushed him away because there was a sharp weapon and the RCMP then whisked me from the side door to the venue.”

“It was in Alberta. I am not an expert on Canadian law about open carrying so I will not be able to say that. But most likely they would have said that it was ‘kirpan’ which is a small blade whereas they had swords in their hand. They could come very, very close to me,” said Mr Verma.

When asked if the incident was reported, Sanjay Verma said, “It was all reported and we were told that investigations are on.”

Speaking of intimidation from the Khalistanis, Sanjay Verma said that the intimidation came through banned organisations associated with the Khalistani extremists.

“Some came through emails during the so-called protests, which I call hooliganism when they gathered in front of the two consulates or the High Commission. They would shout slogans to intimidate us. Whenever we were attending public events, again, they would shout slogans to intimidate us,” he said.

Sharing an incident, Sanjay Verma said, “In one instance, close to Diwali, they created 10 heads for me, called me Ravan. And then my effigy was burnt as Ravan. Is that not hate speech? Then they created another poster of mine. And they riddled it with bullets. Is that not hate speech? Then what is it?”

“I reported this to the foreign ministry. The response was that we forwarded it to the relevant authorities, which is correct. We also do the same. But the report never came back. Okay. So we presume that nothing happened. So we presume that it went into a black box. Not to come out,” he stated.

When asked if he, at any point, felt threatened physically, Sanjay Verma replied, “Threatened, yes. But did I become threatened? No. In most of my public events, there will be these hooligans outside shouting slogans against India, but also against me. Some of them are very burly-looking tall guys who would also gesture to physically harm me, but just the gestures, except for a few incidents. And so they tried.”

“They came close to me. They tried to intimidate me through such, slogans shouting, and abusing me verbally. That was reported,” he stated.

Speaking about his security, Sanjay Verma said, “I had Canadian security, both federal and local.”

Asked about whether he, at any time, doubted their ability to protect him, he replied, “No, that I won’t say. They were very professional, well-trained, and very respectful. So as far as the police officers who were protecting us and now protecting my colleagues there, very, very professional, never had an iota of doubt on their professionalism.”

He added, “But unfortunately, the statement which we saw in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police press briefing, where even the investigation has not been concluded, that was a sad thing to see.”

Mr Verma said that he was there to serve India’s national interest and was committed to doing so.

“So diplomacy for most of us would be, you know, being nice, nice cities. But then the final objective of diplomacy happens to be to safeguard your national interest. National interest could be improving relationships. National interest could be raising awareness against these Khalistani goons. All these are national interests,” he said.

“So we work for the national interests. It so happened that my national interest was a bit different than the national interest of most other ambassadors in other countries,” said Sanjay Verma.

Mr Verma was recalled from Canada after the country said he was a person of interest in the case of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He denied all charges. 

The ties between India and Canada soured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s envoy to Canada has accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of destroying the ties between the two countries, asserting that he had nothing to do with the killing of a Khalistani separatist and that the charges against him are “politically motivated”.

India recently expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced that it was withdrawing its High Commissioner in Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma after dismissing Ottawa’s allegations linking the envoy to the probe into the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Canada, however, said it had expelled six Indian diplomats.

In an interview with Canada’s private broadcaster CTV News aired on Sunday (October 20, 2024), Mr. Verma said that Mr. Trudeau’s allegations over Nijjar’s killing were based on intelligence inputs rather than concrete evidence.

“The problem is that when he accused, he himself admitted there was no hard evidence. There was intelligence. On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he (Mr. Trudeau) did,” Mr. Verma said.

Testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions last week, Trudeau admitted that he had only intelligence and no “hard evidentiary proof” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Nijjar.

“Nothing at all. No evidence was presented (by Canada). (This is) politically motivated,” the outgoing Indian envoy said when asked by the anchor if he had anything to do with Nijjar’s killing.

Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year.

The Indian diplomat said Canada didn’t follow the practice which should have been there.

“Evidence should have been shared first, but someone decided to stand in the Parliament and talk about a thing for which he himself has said there was ‘no hard evidence’,” he said, referring to Trudeau’s address in the Canadian Parliament in September last year when he alleged involvement of Indian government’s agents in the killing of Nijjar.

“And the day on which he did that, since then, he has made it sure that the bilateral relation with India only goes downwards, spiralling down,” the diplomat said.

The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.

New Delhi rejected MR. Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.

India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.

India has strongly rejected attempts by Canadian authorities to link Indian agents with criminal gangs in Canada with official sources in New Delhi even saying that Ottawa’s assertion that it shared evidence with New Delhi in the Nijjar case was simply not true.

Ottawa:

India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma on Tuesday said that the origin of the friction between New Delhi and Ottawa is the “lack of understanding of India’s concern” over a “decades-old issue (Khalistan) that has re-emerged” on foreign soil.

Speaking at an event at the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, he added that it was “a big red line” for India.

Terming the pro-Khalistan extremists in Canada as foreigners since they hold Canadian citizenship as India doesn’t allow dual citizenship, Mr Verma said, “The foreigners having an evil eye on the territorial integrity of India. That is a big red line for India. Indians will decide the fate of India, not foreigners. If those Indians that are living abroad want to decide the fate of India, then they better go back and participate in the election process in India.”

Meanwhile, the three Indian nationals arrested last week in connection with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar appeared before the Surrey Provincial Court in British Columbia. Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Edmonton and have been charged with murder and conspiracy to murder.

Back in Montreal, the high commissioner also pointed out that while the negative in the relationship grabs the headlines, there are many positives to the relationship – the most important one being trade. High Commissioner Verma said, “Trade has been going up despite political divergences.”

He pointed out how Canada has benefitted hugely from services exports to India, a country that itself is big in the services sector. He said Canada was one of the few countries that exports more services to India than it imports. Services exports to India drove up Canada’s overall exports in 2022.  The overall trade in services between India and Canada was over USD 9 billion a total trade figure of almost USD 19 billion.

India’s largest import from Canada is coal briquettes – close to USD 850 million last year. This has declined over the last few years due to India exploring alternative sources of energy to eliminate dependency on fossil fuels. This is followed by the import of lentils largely from the province of Saskatchewan in Canada and followed by a huge import of diamonds.

India’s largest export to Canada is medicines, followed by shrimps and smartphones. Basmati rice exports from India to Canada went up by 14 per cent over the last year.