Amidst diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over Canada’s baseless allegations against regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Indian agencies have stated that Canada did not take any action despite being informed of Nijjar’s crimes. The Canadian government is still pushing the narrative that Nijjar was just a religious leader despite being informed about the criminal cases of murder and terrorist activities of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terrorist Nijjar.
The Indian agencies said that even after an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued against Nijjar in November 2014, Canada only placed him on the “no-fly list”. It is notable that Hardeep Singh Nijjar had entered Canada using a forged passport.
Reportedly, the dossier prepared by the Indian intelligence agencies mentioned that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was an associate of terrorists belonging to the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). The agencies said that Nijjar was associated with Gurdeep Singh alias Deepa Heranwala. Gurdeep Singh was involved in more than 200 killings in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
According to the dossier, Nijjar fled to Canada in 1996 on a forged passport under the name “Ravi Sharma” and worked as a truck driver and plumber. It adds that Nijjar was in contact with Pakistan-based KTF chief Jagtar Singh Tara and went to Pakistan in April 2012 under the guise of a Baisakhi jatha member. Tara radicalised him, and the Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) groomed him, with the former providing him with weapons and explosives training in 2012 and 2013. According to the dossier, Tara sent US-based Harjot Singh to Canada in 2013 to instruct Nijjar on how to use a handheld GPS device.
The dossier mentioned that Nijjar, after becoming KTF’s operations chief, began training, funding and operationalising the members of the Khalistani terror outfit.
After Jagtar Singh Tara was deported from Thailand to India in 2015, Hardeep Singh Nijjar took over as KTF’s operations chief. At this point, the Red Cross notice against him was issued.
It is notable that Nijjar’s initial bids to get political asylum in Canada were denied twice. According to the dossier, Nijjar took over as the head of Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Surrey by threatening his own cousin, the temple’s former president, Raghbir Singh Nijjar.
Furthermore, the dossier notes that Nijjar in 2015 provided arms training to Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal in British Columbia’s Mission Hills. He organised training camps to train Dhaliwal about how to use sniper rifles, AK-47 assault rifles and pistols. Dhaliwal arrived in Punjab to kill local Shiv Sena leaders and fan communal tensions, however, he was nabbed by Punjab police in June 2015.
According to the dossier, Nijjar and Arshdeep Singh Dalla alias Arsh Dalla trained a module of four KTF members, who carried out the targeted assassinations and kidnappings between 2020 and 2021. According to the report, three module members were apprehended and disclosed the names of Nijjar and Dalla.
In September 2021, three KTF terrorists trained by Nijjar and Dalla, Kanwarpal Singh, Kulwinder Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, hailing from Moga, were involved in the plot to kill SSP Harminder Singh Gill and two crime investigation agency officials in Moga.
The dossier also listed several other criminal activities of Nijjar. He had provided funds for getting Manohar Lal Arora and his son. In an attack in 2020, Manohar Lal Arora was shot dead, however, his son managed to escape.
According to the dossier, Nijjar was declared a terrorist by the Home Ministry on July 1, 2020, and the National Investigation Agency announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on July 22, 2022. Despite that, the KTF head functioned with impunity in Canada.
Notably, the diplomatic relations between India and Canada took a turn for the worse after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, 18th September 2023, accused the Union government of being behind the fatal shooting of wanted Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India, however, rejected the allegations levelled by the Trudeau administration, terming them “absurd” and “motivated”.
