India-Canada Row: Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday told Parliament members of the national security committee that Home Minister Amit Shah "ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering" targeting Sikh separatists in Canada, news agency Associated Press reported.
Morrison told the committee that he had confirmed Shah's name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations a day before India recalled its six diplomats, including the High Commissioner, from Canada. "The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person," Morrison told Parliament members. However, Morrison did not comment on how Canada knew of Shah's alleged involvement.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's national security adviser Nathalie Drouin told the committee that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.
She alleged that this piece of information was then passed on to the government in New Delhi, which she alleged "works with a criminal network affiliated with Lawrence Bishnoi", the AP report said.
According to The Globe and Mail, the leaked information also ties India to the killing of Sikh activist Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was shot in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023. This took place just two days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement in the House of Commons accusing India of involvement in the June 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C.
Although no charges have been filed in Gill's case, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme stated on October 14 that evidence links India to multiple killings, with Nijjar as the only named individual.
What Did PM Trudeau Say On Nijjar Killing?
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau last year said Ottawa had credible evidence to prove that "agents of the Indian government" were involved in the murder of pro-Khalistan Sikh radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.
However, while testifying at the Foreign Interference Commission earlier this month, Trudeau admitted that he "did not have evidence" to support the accusations of Indian government agents' involvement in the killing of Nijjar. He also stated that India committed a "massive mistake and violated the country's sovereignty".
The Canada Police has also alleged that "agents" of the Indian government were collaborating with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to spread terror on Canadian soil.
"It (India) is targeting the 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 claimed by one organised crime group in particular - the Bishnoi Group...We believe that the group is connected to agents of the Government of India," Brigitte Gauvin, Assistant Commissioner of Royal Canadian Mounted Police, had said in a press briefing this month.
India Called Canada's Accusations 'Preposterous'
The Ministry of External Affairs expelled six Canadian diplomats including Acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler amid an escalating row over the investigation into the murder of Nijjar.
India called the accusations levelled by Canada "preposterous" and announced that it was withdrawing the Indian officials expelled by the Canadian government. India also said that Canada had not shared a "shred of evidence of India's involvement in Nijjar's killing" despite repeated requests. It also accused Trudeau of engaging in vote bank politics and not taking sufficient steps to tackle separatist elements on his country's soil.