A yr after Sikh separatist chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered exterior a group shrine close to Vancouver, a collection of diplomatic and authorized strikes are intensifying scrutiny over India’s alleged function in quelling Sikh separatist actions in overseas by way of assassinations in each america and Canada.
In Canada, an upcoming listening to within the Nijjar case on June 25 will provide prosecutors a brand new alternative to current proof to help their allegations of Indian involvement within the homicide.
In the meantime, Nikhil Gupta, suspected of being concerned in a plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was extradited from the Czech Republic to america earlier this month.
Beneath you will see that extra details about what Canada and america are doing and what it means for India:
What is going on in Canada with the Nijjar case?
4 Indian nationals have been arrested in Might this yr for the deadly Nijjar taking pictures in June final yr. The 4 males are Amandeep Singh, 22; Kamalpreet Singh, 22 years previous; Karan Brar, 22 years previous; and Karanpreet Singh, 28.
Sikh activists marked the primary anniversary of Nijjar’s loss of life by holding a mock trial of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi exterior the Indian consulate in downtown Vancouver. They carried an effigy of Modi with jail stripes, affirming the Indian authorities’s function in Nijjar’s loss of life.
In the meantime, final week the Canadian Parliament honored Nijjar on the anniversary of his homicide with a second of silence, prompting an offended response from India. Nijjar, 45, was thought-about a terrorist by the Indian authorities three years earlier than his loss of life.
Sikhs in Canada proceed to carry non-binding referendums on making a Sikh nation separate from the Indian state of Punjab, with the following vote scheduled for July 28 in Calgary, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported.
The 4 males accused of being concerned in Nijjar’s homicide will seem at a courtroom listening to on June 25 within the metropolis of Surrey.
How has the Nijjar case strained relations between India and Canada?
Nijjar was shot lifeless exterior a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on June 18, 2023. Surrey has numerous Sikhs, making up 2 p.c of Canada’s inhabitants.
Nijjar was related to the Khalistan motion, an ethnoreligious motion that emerged amongst India’s Sikhs, who make up 2 p.c of India’s inhabitants however practically 60 p.c of the inhabitants of the northern state of Punjab.
Khalistan is the proposed identify for a Sikh nation envisioned by some Sikhs, incorporating the state of Punjab in addition to different Punjabi-speaking areas of northern India.
Whereas the motion fizzled out after a crescendo in India within the Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties, on account of repression by Indian forces and Hindu mobs, it has just lately seen a resurgence amongst Sikhs within the diaspora.
In September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada was investigating the likelihood that the Indian authorities was concerned in Nijjar’s homicide. India has rejected any involvement in Nijjar’s loss of life.
The incident examined the connection between the 2 nations, as India withdrew its diplomats from Canada and briefly suspended visas for Canadians. Commerce talks between the nations have been deeply frozen since Trudeau’s explosive accusations.
Final week on the G7 convention in Italy, Modi and Trudeau shook arms, nevertheless it was unclear whether or not they mentioned India’s doable involvement in Nijjar’s loss of life.
Tensions usually are not prone to ease anytime quickly, particularly as hearings into the Nijjar case are anticipated to disclose extra about Canada’s allegations in opposition to India. Modi’s authorities has repeatedly accused Trudeau of pandering to Sikh separatists in in search of their votes, ignoring India’s nationwide safety issues.
These criticisms arose once more final week, after the Canadian Parliament’s present of respect towards Nijjar. “As soon as once more we’ve got stated that Khalistani’s actions are a matter of significant concern to us. We have now repeatedly referred to as on the federal government of Canada to take motion. The political house given to anti-India extremist components and those that advocate violence should cease and motion have to be taken,” stated Indian Ministry of Exterior Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
India claims Canada has but to offer it with any clear proof linking Nijjar’s homicide to Indian brokers. New Delhi has steered {that a} rivalry between felony gangs in Canada might have been behind the homicide.
What is going on in america?
However Canada just isn’t the one nation the place the actions of Indian safety businesses overseas are below scrutiny.
The Czech Republic has extradited Indian nationwide Nikhil Gupta to america, the place prosecutors have accused him of collaborating in a failed murder-for-hire plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Gupta, 53, who was arrested in June final yr by Czech authorities whereas touring from India to Prague, arrived in america on June 14.
As within the Nijjar case, the Indian authorities has tried to disassociate itself from the plot in opposition to Pannun. Nonetheless, it has stated it can formally examine safety issues raised by Washington.
Final month, Washington stated it was glad up to now with steps taken by India to make sure accountability within the alleged plots, though it added that many steps nonetheless wanted to be taken.
Gupta, who has been held on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn, New York, since his arrival within the US, pleaded not responsible on June 17.
What was the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun case?
On November 29, 2023, america Division of Justice introduced prices in opposition to Gupta, accusing him of working for the Indian authorities to hold out the deliberate homicide of Pannun, who’s a US citizen, in New York.
Federal prosecutors described Gupta as an affiliate of an Indian authorities company worker recognized solely as “CC-1,” who beforehand labored with the Central Reserve Police Drive, a serious paramilitary drive of the Indian authorities, in keeping with the indictment.
The indictment alleged that CC-1 directed the assassination plot from India and recruited Gupta round Might 2023 to coordinate it.
Gupta, appearing on CC-1’s directions, contacted an individual he believed was a felony affiliate who might perform the homicide, the indictment alleges. However the particular person he contacted, unbeknownst to Gupta, was working confidentially for U.S. regulation enforcement.
This supply, in flip, linked him to a “hitman” who was really an undercover regulation enforcement agent working for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in keeping with the indictment.
Gupta agreed to pay the hitman $100,000 for killing Pannun, paying him a money advance of $15,000 in Manhattan round June 9, 2023, in keeping with the US Division of Justice.
If convicted, Gupta might withstand 20 years in jail.
The DEA, in addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are investigating this case, in keeping with a June 17 Division of Justice press launch.
Are the tremors felt elsewhere?
The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) just lately revealed an article accusing Indian brokers of harassing and threatening members of the Sikh diaspora in Australia, and linking these circumstances to Nijjar’s homicide, in addition to the alleged plot in america in opposition to Pannun.
The ABC beforehand reported on Australia’s expulsion of an alleged Indian “spy nest”. Their report means that brokers from the Australian Safety Intelligence Group (ASIO), the nationwide intelligence company, met with Sikh activists in Australia in relation to Nijjar’s loss of life.
The ABC has stated that YouTube blocked a few of its content material in India forward of the nation’s basic election. YouTube stated the ban was on account of a “confidential” order below the Indian Info Expertise Act of 2000.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who in Might 2023 had celebrated Modi in Australia, evaluating his reputation to that of the long-lasting singer Bruce Springsteen, nor his authorities have commented on the ABC experiences.
