iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Two men suspected to have shot dead Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada’s British Columbia in June 2023 are expected to be caught soon by Canadian police, The Globe and Mail reported, citing sources. The report stated that three sources as saying that the suspected killers did not leave Canada after Nijjar was shot dead in Surrey, and have been under police surveillance for months.
The Globe and Mail is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada.
Two of the three sources said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are expected to make arrests and lay charges in the coming weeks.
Ties between India and Canada have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations (see indica’s comprehensive coverage) of India’s involvement in the Nijjar murder. According to the sources cited in the report, the charges against the two suspects will reveal their role as well as the Indian government’s. The newspaper did not name the sources as they are not authorized to speak publicly about national security or police concerns.
At this time, the RCMP has not commented or given a response to questions from the newspaper about the investigation and whether charges were imminent.
India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd and motivated” and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa asked a senior Indian diplomat to leave.
New Delhi also halted visa services to Canada, but later resumed services for four categories after a “considered review of the security situation”. According to India’s ministry of external affairs, Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing.
On November 12, Justin Trudeau had reaffirmed his allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India. He also accused New Delhi of violating the Vienna Convention by “kicking out” 40 diplomats at a time when his country had reached out to the former and other global partners to get to the bottom of the murder.
Tying the Nijjar killing to India’s decision to strip the Canadian diplomats of their immunity, the Canadian PM said, “That’s why we were so disappointed when India violated the Vienna Convention and arbitrarily revoked the diplomatic immunity of over 40 Canadian diplomats in India… We have serious reasons to believe that agents of the government of India could have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil and India’s response is to kick out a whole bunch of Canadian diplomats by violating their rights under the Vienna Convention.”
“That is of concern to countries around the world because if a given country can just decide that their diplomats of another country are no longer protected, that makes international relations more dangerous and more serious. But every step of the way, we have tried to work constructively and positively with India, and we will continue to and that means continuing to work with Indian government diplomats. This is not a fight we want to be having right now but we will unequivocally always stand up for the rule of law,” he had said.
