On 20th September (local time), Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller claimed he had made a mistake while mentioning the date when Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar got Canadian citizenship. Initially Miller said that Nijjar got Canadian citizenship in March 2015, months after a Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued against Nijjar by Interpol. Later, correcting himself, Miller tweeted, “Mr Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on 25th May 2007, earlier than I stated below. The error in dates is my responsibility to assume. Again, nothing justifies the killing of Mr Nijjar.” Notably, the “error” Miller made was of eight long years.
Mr. Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on May 25, 2007, earlier than I stated below. The error in dates is my responsibility to assume. Again, nothing justifies the killing of Mr. Nijjar. https://t.co/d5mv69HScC
— Marc Miller ᐅᑭᒫᐃᐧᐅᓃᐸᐄᐧᐤᐃᔨᐣ (@MarcMillerVM) September 20, 2023
Notably, an RCN means that the country where the accused is located should arrest and deport them. However, if the mentioned date of 3rd March 2015 was correct, Canada expedited his citizenship only after RCN was issued against Nijjar. As per reports, during the discussions with the Indian Government, it was highlighted that Canada accepted Nijjar’s citizenship application several months after the initial RCN was issued on 14th November 2014.
The first RCN was issued after the Punjab Police registered a case (FIR No. 159) against Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Kotwali police station in Patiala. Later, in 2016, a second RCN was issued in FIR No. 19 filed at the Nurpur police station in Ropar.
Indian agencies are sceptical of Miller’s latest assertion as the issue of Nijjar’s citizenship had already been raised with Canada and Interpol. Furthermore, Indian authorities have questioned how Nijjar was able to reside in Canada between 1997 and 2015. In 1997, Nijjar arrived in Toronto using a fraudulent passport in the name of ‘Ravi Sharma’. His immigration followed a raid in 1996 at his uncle’s residence in Uttar Pradesh. Nijjar had been hiding there after being detained by the Punjab Police in 1995.
In June of 1998, Nijjar presented an affidavit and medical records that detailed incidents of alleged torture he had suffered in India. However, despite his plea, Canadian authorities rejected his claim as there were discrepancies in the documents he presented. Less than two weeks after his claim was denied, Nijjar married a woman who sponsored him on 21st November 1998. Immigration officials observed that his wife had come to Canada in 1997, sponsored by a different husband.
Canada blamed India of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil
On 18th September, in a bizarre move, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed India for killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In a statement, India categorically rejected the claims and urged the Canadian government to take strict action against anti-India elements on its soil. Interestingly, PM Trudeau accused India in the Canadian parliament of killing Nijjar without providing any proof.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Khalistani terrorist wanted by the Indian government. The 46-year-old hailed from the village Bhar Singhpura of Jalandhar. He was recently added to the list of designated terrorists by the Indian Government. In 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared a Rs 10 lakh reward on Nijjar after his name appeared in a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Jalandhar, Punjab. The Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) was behind the conspiracy to kill the Hindu priest. Nijjar was the chief of the Khalistani terrorist organization KTF. Apart from his activities in KTF, Nijjar was also linked to the Khalistani terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice.
