Canadian police have arrested members of an alleged hit squad assigned by the Indian government to kill Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, according to a Canadian media report on Friday. The relationship between India and Canada deteriorated significantly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of “potential” involvement in Nijjar’s death in September of last year. Trudeau’s charges were rejected as “absurd” in New Delhi. According to sources close to the investigation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police are actively investigating potential links to three additional murders in Canada, including the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy in Edmonton.
Members of the hit squad played various roles on the day Nijjar was killed at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, including shooters, drivers, and spotters, news agency PTI cited sources as saying. The men were apprehended Friday during police raids in at least two provinces.
According to sources, investigators identified the alleged hit squad members in Canada several months ago and have been monitoring them closely. Police are expected to announce the arrests and provide some details about their investigation later Friday, according to the report.
Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian citizen, was fatally shot on June 18 at his Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, shortly after evening prayers. India rejected Prime Minister Trudeau’s latest remarks on the killing of Nijjar on Thursday, saying they once again demonstrated Canada’s political space for separatism, extremism, and violence.
Trudeau spoke at a Khalsa Day event in Toronto on Sunday, which was attended by some pro-Khalistan supporters.
On the sidelines of the event, he told the media that the killing of Nijjar in British Columbia in June last year created a “problem” that he couldn’t ignore, in an apparent reference to his previous allegations of Indian agents’ involvement in the assassination.
India dismissed Prime Minister Trudeau’s most recent comments regarding the killing of Nijjar on Thursday, claiming they furthered the political space in Canada for violence, extremism, and separatism. Some pro-Khalistan supporters were present when Trudeau spoke on Sunday during a Khalsa Day celebration in Toronto.
In apparent reference to his earlier claims of Indian agents being involved in the assassination, he told the media on the fringes of the event that the death of Nijjar in British Columbia in June of last year created a “problem” that he couldn’t ignore. .
India requested that Ottawa reduce its diplomatic presence in the nation to maintain parity a few days after Trudeau’s accusations. Canada then removed 41 diplomats from India along with their families.
India has maintained that the space given to separatists, terrorists, and anti-India elements in Canada is still its “core issue” with that country. In response to Trudeau’s accusations from the previous year, India temporarily stopped issuing visas to citizens of Canada. A few weeks later, the visa services were once again offered.