India and Canada are at loggerheads over an alleged killing of a Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. While Canada has claimed that India played a key role in Nijjar’s killing, India has rebuffed the claims terming them ‘absurd.’ So, who exactly was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist, lived in the city of Surrey which is about 30 km to the southeast of Vancouver, Canada. Hardeep moved to Canada from Punjab in 1997 and worked as a plumber in his initial days in Canada. Nijjar was also the president of the Surrey gurdwara body since 2020.
Nijjar was allegedly killed in June 2023 after being shot by unidentified assailants. The Indian government said that Nijjar was the leader of Khalistan Tiger Force, a Sikh extremist militant group. New Delhi also said that he was actively involved in the networking and operationalisation of the KTF along with training and financing the members.
India’s home ministry had notified the KTF as a terrorist organisation under the UAPA Act in February 2023. The MHA claimed that KTF is a militant group that aims at reviving terrorism in Punjab and challenges the territorial integrity, unity, national security and sovereignty of India.
The National Investigation Agency had declared a cash reward of Rs 10 Lakh on information leading to Nijjar’s arrest in connection with an attack on a Hindu priest in Jalandhar in 2021.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited India back in 2018, then Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh handed him Nijjar’s name in the ‘wanted list’.
NIA registered an FIR that also named Nijjar in December 2020 when farmers were protesting against the three farm laws in Delhi.
On September 18, 2023, Canadian Prime Minister had claimed that the Indian government was involved in Nijjar’s killing.
Trudeau said that ‘any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty’. This allegation was tied with the expulsion of a senior Indian diplomat.
To this, the Ministry of External Affairs responded saying that such ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ are being made to shift focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have taken shelter in Canada continuing to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. India responded to the Indian diplomat expulsion by expelling a senior Canadian diplomat who has been asked to leave the country within 5 days.
Nijjar had also been associated with ‘Sikhs For Justice’ which is a separatist organisation that has been banned in India. He was seen during the voting for the so-called Khalistan Referendum in Australia.