iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is yet to provide any evidence to back his allegations on India’s involvement in the death of Khalistani operative Hardeep Nijjar. However, Canada based news platform CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) reported on Thursday that Canada has amassed human and signal intelligence in the probe.
CBC claimed, citing sources, that the intelligence gathered by the Canadian government includes conversations with Indian diplomats in the country.
READ: indica’s comprehensive coverage of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegations and the aftermath
It claimed that some Indian officials have “not denied” the existence of the intelligence in private.
This comes after Trudeau alleged India’s role behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. New Delhi has denied such allegations calling them ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.
In his news conference in New York on Thursday, the Canadian Prime Minister did not present any evidence to back his claims. Trudeau was repeatedly quizzed on the nature of the allegations but stuck to reiterating that there were “credible reasons” to believe that India was linked to the death of Nijjar.
“There are credible reasons to believe that agents of the Government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil. That is… there is something of utmost foundational importance in a country’s rule of law in a world where international rules-based order matters” said Trudeau.
“We call upon the Government of India to take seriously this matter and to work with us to shed full transparency and ensure accountability and justice in this matter,” added Trudeau.
As per CBC News, the intelligence did not come solely from Canada, and some were also provided by an unnamed ally in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada).
In connection with the case, several Canadian officials have gone to India seeking ‘cooperation’ in the investigation of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death the report said.
Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser Jody Thomas was in India for over four days in mid-August, then again for five days this month. That last visit overlapped with the meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CBC News reported.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday however said that no information has been shared by Canada regarding the killing of Nijjar.
“We are willing to look at any specific information that is provided to us, but so far we have received no specific information from Canada,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during a briefing.
“From our side, specific evidence about criminal activities by individuals based on Canadian soil has been shared with Canada but not acted upon… Yes, I do think there is a degree of prejudice here. They have made allegations and taken action on them. To us, it seems that these allegations by the government of Canada are primarily politically driven,” Bagchi added.
Hardeep Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 this year.
