Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed Parliament that there were “credible allegations” of a “potential link” between “agents of the government of India” and the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
On June 18, Nijjar, 45, Nijjar was shot dead in his truck by two masked gunmen in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. He was a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan
Canadian Police Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) initially sought two suspects described as “heavier-set males wearing face coverings.” However, they later said the men were not acting alone.
Trudeau confirmed that authorities were investigating links between the murder and people linked to the Indian government. The Indian government has vehemently rejected the allegations.
READ MORE: Canada suspects India’s involvement in Sikh leader murder
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Nijjar, who moved to Canada in February 1997 as a plumber, was a key figure in the movement for an independent Khalistan — a separate homeland for Sikhs in the Indian subcontinent.
The Indian government said was wanted for allegedly being a “mastermind/active member” of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), which the Indian government designates as a terrorist group.
Speaking to a Canadian outlet, his friend Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that Nijjar said that gang members had warned him Indian intelligence agents had put a bounty on his head.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service also told Nijjar they had information that he was “under threat from professional assassins,” Pannun said.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, India saw an armed conflict between the Indian government and Sikh separatists in the Sikh-majority northern state of Punjab.
Nijjar’s brother was arrested by police in India Amid a crackdown on the insurgency. In 1995, Nijjar himself was arrested. He claimed in a sworn affidavit to Canadian immigration officials that he was beaten and tortured for information about his brother. He said he secured a bribe, cut his hair short and escaped.
In 1997, Nijjar came to Canada and claimed he was beaten and tortured by Indian police. In 1998, his refugee claim was denied. According to his immigration records, he used a fraudulent passport that identified him as “Ravi Sharma.”
In an affidavit dated June 9, 1998, Nijjar said his life would be in grave danger if he went back to India. His application was rejected, and 11 days later Nijjar married a Canadian woman who sponsored him to immigrate as her spouse. However, immigration officials considered it a marriage of convenience and rejected Nijjar’s application.
Nijjar appealed to the courts and lost in 2001 but identified himself as a Canadian citizen. Nijjar ran a plumbing business in Surrey, B.C., and rose to become a prominent advocate for the creation of Khalistan — a separate Sikh nation. He travelled around the world and called for a referendum on Khalistan and called for anti-Sikh violence in India to be recognized as ‘genocide’.
In 2014, a few months after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, Indian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Nijjar. New Delhi described Nijjar as the “mastermind” of the militant group Khalistan Tiger Force.
He was accused of being involved in the 2007 bombing of a cinema in Punjab. A 2016 Interpol notice against him alleged he was a “key conspirator” in the attack. He was accused of recruiting and fundraising for the Khalistan movement.
Last week, a referendum was held in the gurudwara where Nijjar served as president. The non-binding and unofficial vote was organized by Sikhs for Justice, a group that advocates for a Khalistani nation. The group estimated more than 100,000 people attended the vote.
