A view of the High Commission of Canada amidst tensions between India and Canada over the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in New Delhi, on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Canadian officials had shared information with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval suggesting that Home Minister Amit Shah and a senior RA&W official, had authorized attacks and intelligence-gathering on pro-Khalistani figures in Canada, according to the Washington Post.

Conversations of Indian diplomats, intercepted by Canadian authorities, included references to “a senior official in India and a senior official in RAW” according to the Post’s report, which said that Canadian authorities had identified the “ senior official” as Mr Shah. The government did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations, the Post said.

On Monday, Canadian authorities identified — and expelled — at least six sitting diplomats who, they claimed, were involved in acts of violence in Canada. New Delhi has consistently denied involvement in the Canadian incidents and said on Monday that it “ strongly” rejected the “ preposterous imputations” , ascribing political motives to the accusations. The government responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats on Monday (October 14, 2024).

On Monday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) publicly alleged that Indian government agents were involved in acts of violence across Canada. Speaking after the RCMP’s briefing, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a reference to a meeting between Mr Doval and his Canadian counterpart in Singapore on October 15 to discuss these acts. The Post’s report says that Mr Doval was shown this information by the Canadian authorities at the Singapore meeting.

“ Canadian officials shared details about the references to Shah and other evidence with India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, at a secret meeting in Singapore on Saturday. Canadians who took part in the meeting included Trudeau’s national security adviser, Nathalie Drouin, and Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison, as well as a top RCMP official,” the report says as it goes on to describe, in detail, Mr Doval’s actions and comments in the meeting.

The RCMP has alleged that the Bishnoi gang was part of the chain of actors, linked with government agents, and carrying out acts of violence in Canada. The gang, which has several hundred members as per reports, is headed by 31-year old Lawrence Bishnoi, who has been in jail since 2015. He was most recently in the news over alleged links to the killing of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddiqui on the night of October 12.

New Delhi:

Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police claimed Monday that “agents of the Government of India” use criminals – referring specifically to the Bishnoi gang – to “target (the) South Asian community… specifically pro-Khalistani elements” in that country.

The charge – by RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhene and his deputy, Brigitte Gauvin – follows a sharp escalation in a row festering since Ottawa last year accused “agents” of Delhi of involvement in the killing of Canadian citizen and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar.

“It (the Indian government) is targeting the South Asian community… but they are specifically targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada. What we have seen, from an RCMP perspective, is that they use organised crime elements,” Ms Gauvin told reporters.

“It has been publicly attributed and claimed by one crime group in particular – the Bishnoi gang. We believe the group is connected to agents of the Government of India.”

#WATCH | Ottawa, Ontario (Canada): “It (India) is targeting South Asian community but they are specifically targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada…What we have seen is, from an RCMP perspective, they use organised crime elements. It has been publically attributed and… pic.twitter.com/KYKQVSx7Ju

— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2024

When asked specifically if “agents of Indian government” were being accused of “homicide, extortion, intimidation, and coercion”, Mr Duheme replied “yes”.

India has strongly rejected what it calls “preposterous imputations”, including those by Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing New Delhi of “supporting criminal activity against Canadians” and “coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians”.

The External Affairs Ministry also rejected claims by Ottawa that Sanjay Kumar Verma, posted as the Indian High Commissioner, and five of his staff, are ‘persons of interest’. All six have been expelled by the Canadian side after it claimed Delhi’s continuing non-cooperation in its investigation.

Canadian cops further claimed some Indian diplomatic staff work with organised crime elements in Canada to “collect – through questionable and illegal means – information on Canadian citizens… (that is fed to criminal organisations) that would then take violent actions from extortion to murder”.

Hours after the RCMP officers’ press conference Mr Trudeau spoke to reporters and doubled down on charges against the Indian government.

READ | Trudeau Doubles Down On Charges After India-Canada Diplomatic Row

“I think it is obvious the Government of India made a fundamental error in thinking they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil. Whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts, it is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

The allegations coincide with sliding support and tanking popularity ratings; last week he survived a second parliamentary confidence vote in as many weeks ahead of the 2025 election.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canada counterpart Justin Trudeau (File). 

India and Canada have exchanged a second round of tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats, although Delhi later said it was withdrawing its officials over security concerns. Delhi ejected Canada’s acting High Commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, and his deputy.

READ | India, Canada Expel Diplomats In Tit-For-Tat Move Amid Deepening Rift

On the expulsion of its diplomats, Delhi said, “Sanjay Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat”, and slammed a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

The Bishnoi gang – led by Lawrence Bishnoi from his prison cell in Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail – has rapidly become of the country’s most feared criminal organisations.

It even has a base in Canada, where gangster Goldy Brar is based.

READ | How Shooters Used Procession, Firecrackers As Cover To Kill Baba Siddique

With its vast network the Bishnoi gang has, so far, murdered with impunity; the most recent killing was ex-Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.

Within India the gang is known to be involved in murder and arms trafficking, and extortion of money from high-profile targets like Punjabi singers, the liquor mafia, other prominent businessmen. Its activities are enforced by an army of around 700 hitmen, reports have said.

READ | Lawrence Bishnoi Has 700 Shooters. How He Operates From Jail

The Canadian government has now claimed links between Indian government “agents” and the Bishnoi gang with relation to the killing of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara in June.

With input from agencies

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Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma. Photo: www.hciottawa.gov.in

Amidst the diplomatic strain in India-Canada relations, India’s envoy here has warned that the Sikh separatist groups in Canada were crossing “a big red line” that New Delhi sees as a matter of national security and of the country’s territorial integrity.

Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma said this on May 7 in his first public remarks since three Indian nationals accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year were arrested and produced before a court by Canadian police.

Mr. Verma seemed to link the case to domestic crime, CTV News reported.

He also warned that Sikh groups in Canada who call for the separation of their homeland from India are crossing “a big red line” that New Delhi sees as a matter of national security.

“Indians will decide the fate of India, not the foreigners,” Mr. Verma told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think-tank.

He also told the Council that relations between India and Canada are positive overall despite “a lot of noise”.

Mr. Verma also said that the two countries are “trying to resolve this issue”. “We are ready to sit down at the table any day, and we are doing that,” he said.

Mr. Verma said the deeper problems underneath the recent “negative” developments have to do with Canada’s misunderstanding of “decades-old issues,” which he blames Canadians of Indian origin for resurfacing.

He said his chief concern is “national-security threats emanating from the land of Canada”, noting that India does not recognise dual nationality, so anyone who emigrates is considered a foreigner.

“Foreigners having, if I can call it, [an] evil eye on the territorial integrity of India — that is a big red line for us,” he said.

He did not specify whether he was referring to foreigners being involved in the Nijjar case or the issue of Sikh separatism more broadly, the report said.

On May 7, India told Canada that celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilised society. Democratic countries which respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression.

“We continue to remain concerned about the security of our diplomatic representatives in Canada and expect the Government of Canada to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement in response to the violent imagery being used by extremist elements in Canada against India’s political leadership.

“We again call upon the Government of Canada to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven and political space in Canada,” the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi.

Earlier on May 7, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stood by allegations that the Indian government was complicit in the slaying of Nijjar last year.

Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey on June 18, 2023.

The killing sparked a wave of protests, with some Sikh groups circulating posters that threatened Indian diplomats in Canada by name.

Ms. Joly said her goal is still to conduct diplomacy with India in private.

She said she would let the police investigate instead of providing any new commentary on the case.

“We stand by the allegations that a Canadian was killed on Canadian soil by Indian agents,” Ms. Joly said on Parliament Hill.

“The investigation by the RCMP is being done. I won’t further comment and no other officials from our government will further comment,” she said, referring to the ongoing probe by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Meanwhile, Mr. Verma also mentioned “so many positive things” happening in the relationship between India and Canada.

He noted the annual value of two-way trade is 26 billion Canadian dollars, and in the past 11 months, there has been a 75% jump in Canadian lentil exports and a 21% increase in Indian-prepared medicines reaching Canada.

On May 7, the group Sikhs for Justice called for Mr. Verma’s speech to be cancelled, citing the Nijjar case and allegations of foreign interference by India.