Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Last Updated : 2023-10-01 11:41:00
Sun, 01 Oct 2023 Today's Paper
19 September 2023 08:29 am - 17 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Indian government could be behind the fatal shooting of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Mr Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on 18 June in British Columbia (BC).
Mr Trudeau said Canadian intelligence has identified a "credible" link between his death and the Indian state.
He raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the recent G20 summit, he said.
"Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Mr Trudeau said on Monday in the House of Commons.
"It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves."
India has previously denied any involvement with Mr Nijjar's murder.
Canada also expelled an Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, on Monday over the case, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters following Mr Trudeau's remarks.
The BBC has contacted the Indian embassy in Canada for comment.
Ms Joly said Canadian officials are limited in what they can say in public about the case due to the ongoing homicide investigation into Mr Nijjar's death.
Investigators have previously categorised the 45-year-old's death as a "targeted incident".
Mr Nijjar was shot dead in his vehicle by two masked gunmen on a mid-June summer evening in the busy car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, a city about 30km (18 miles) east of Vancouver.
He was a prominent Sikh leader in the western-most province of British Columbia and publicly campaigned for Khalistan - an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region of India. His supporters have said that he was a target of threats in the past because of his activism.
India has previously described him as a terrorist who led a militant separatist group - accusations his supporters call "unfounded".
Mr Trudeau said Canada has expressed its concerns about Mr Nijjar's death to high-level security and intelligence agencies in India.
He also raised it with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
"I continue to ask with a great deal of firmness that the government of India co-operate with Canada to shed light on this situation," he said.
Mr Trudeau said that Mr Nijjar's shooting has angered Canadians, leaving some fearful for their safety.
Some Sikh groups in Canada, including the World Sikh Organisation, welcomed the prime minister's statement, saying Mr Trudeau confirmed what was already widely believed in the community.
There are an estimated 1.4 to 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin. The country has the largest population of Sikhs outside the state of Punjab in India.
Mr Trudeau's remarks come after his tense meeting with Mr Modi last week during the G20 summit in India.
During that meeting, according to a statement from the Indian government, Mr Modi accused Canada of not doing enough to quell "anti-India activities of extremist elements", referring to the Sikh separatist movement in the country.
Canada also recently suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement with India. It gave few details on why, but India cited "certain political developments".
Mr Nijjar is the third prominent Sikh figure to have died unexpectedly in recent months.
In the UK, Avtar Singh Khanda, who was said to be the head of the Khalistan Liberation Force, died in Birmingham in June under what has been described as "mysterious circumstances".
Paramjit Singh Panjwar, who was designated a terrorist by India, was shot dead in May in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province. (BBC)
Nandakumar , Canada Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:02 AM
This kind of accusation against India has never happened before. India did lot of horrendous things to its minorities within India and also committed atrocities in neighbouring countries, including massacring thousands of Tamil civilians in Jaffna. But by projecting “ a non violent image using the name of Mahatma Gandhi “ India was able to fool the world into believing that it was not capable of committing horrible deeds to any one or any country. But now at last for the first time India is being openly accused of commuting murder in a foreign country by a leader of a major Western Country. Prime Minister Trudeau emphasised in his speech in the parliament that the Canadian Police and the Intelligence would pursue it until the Indian killers are caught and brought to Justice.
Chryshan Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:08 AM
Canada was supporting LTTE as well. They allowed to collect funds to support LTTE and just kept silent when they murder innocent civilians here in Sri Lanka. They are a great supporter of Terrorists.
D P P Prasad Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:10 AM
India is booming the day by day. Hence certain developed countries can’t endure the success of India. Thus Indian technology and other capabilities cannot be challenged by certain countries. Therefore certain developed countries are often levelling false allegations against India so at to tarnish its reputation
Punchi Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:21 AM
India like Ceylon is a British creation. There was a Sikh kingdom thst the British defeated and incorporated into British India which also includes Tawang where the current Dalai Lama was born which the British forced Tibet to hand over to British India. Similarly the North and Kandyan kingdom was defeated and both areas incorporated into British Ceylon by the British. Modern Ceylon and its productive institutions are British creations
Prageeth Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:44 AM
So Trudeau, what are you gonna do about? Pass a resolution at UNHCR?
G Miskin Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:04 AM
@ Punchi: you are an Indian Tamil with pro Indian views and hate for Sri Lanka. Interestingly you live in Canada !!!
Gemunu Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:07 AM
@ Punchi, why you are diverting the attention away from the shooting in Canada by Indian agents. By the way, we know you live in Canada and you are a die-heart Indian fanatic .
Christo255 Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:12 AM
He knows he will lose the next election. So first he stirred up the Sri Lankan Tamils and now Indian Sikhs. So already 2.5 million votes in pocket. What next British and the French? This man is so dangerous because he won't mind starting world war 3 if he can het elected again
Lumbini Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:19 AM
Trudeau is a weak leader for a country like Canada.
Spartacus Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:24 AM
If India is involved, it is absolutely and totally wrong. A country where Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were born which are all peace loving religions should not behave like mafia terrorists.
Chawala Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:44 AM
So what was the first world countries intelligence unit doing until some one got killed in your soil. It would be a shame on Canada if India were to penetrate their intelligence and carryout such an assassination
Debashish Roy Tuesday, 19 September 2023 10:47 AM
Recently there was an attack on a Sikh in NZ. Fortunately he survived and told the story. Otherwise someone would have blamed that also on India. This Sikh guy was stabbed 42 times by his own fellow Sikhs for not supporting Khalistan movement
Ian Bertus Tuesday, 19 September 2023 12:10 PM
Given the BJP Governments style of ruling, it is obvious that the Indian government is behond this. This should be investigated thoroughly, and Indias such acts revelead to the world. India is becoming too big for its boots.
MirakRajBanda Tuesday, 19 September 2023 12:48 PM
What Modi thinks- India is Gujrat and the rest of the world is India.
Aram Tuesday, 19 September 2023 01:09 PM
India will do anything for it's welfare. It created five tamil movements and later cheated all of them now it shake hands with srilanka for their benefits.They destroyed more tamils now shed crocodile tears. Tamils should not trust India and work out a deal with western countries in order to achieve the final wishes of tamils
Tariq Tuesday, 19 September 2023 01:38 PM
This man is playing a racial card to get re-electied because he doesn't have a family anymore. He divorced his wife. First he said Sri Lankan government commited genocide against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Now he says this. What about whom they murdered.
Sathya Tuesday, 19 September 2023 04:26 PM
Death of Nijjar may be something similar to the attempted murder of a Sikh in NZ by his own community
Add comment
Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.
Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
In recent times, the skies above SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of
The country’s health sector has recently witnessed allegations of massive c
Having passed the Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service Exam in 1988, Mr
History was made on July 26, 2023, when Sri Lanka-born Gary Anandasangaree wa
