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Indian allegations of militant activities

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The Indian government accused Nijjar of being the leader of pro-Khalistan militant group Khalistan Tiger Force.[1][2][3] At the Indian government's request, two Interpol red notices were issued against Nijjar, in 2014 and 2016.[4] The first accused him of being a "mastermind/active member" of Khalistan Tiger Force and said that suspects arrested in connection with the 2007 Shingaar cinema hall bomb blast had implicated him.[4] Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Canadian lawyer, activist, and associate of Nijjar's, said that Nijjar was acquitted of involvement in a conspiracy.[4]

The Indian government and intelligence agencies alleged that Nijjar visited Pakistan in 2012–14, where he met with militant leader Jagtar Singh Tara of Babbar Khalsa International, was recruited and groomed by Pakistan's intelligence agency, received arms and explosives training, and under Tara's directive, was sent to Canada in 2013 to receive handheld GPS device training.[5][6][7] To buttress these claims, the Indian media released photos of Nijjar and Tara on a gurdwara rooftop and Nijjar brandishing an AK-47.[8] In 2015, the Indian government asked that Canadian authorities surveil Nijjar over suspicions of his involvement in a plot to transport ammunition into India using a paraglider.[9] Nijjar said that this claim was "absolutely preposterous" and "more like a bad Bollywood movie plot."[10]

The 2016 Interpol red notice, issued at the request of Indian authorities, accused Nijjar of being the "mastermind and key conspirator of many terrorist acts in India";[4] India accused Nijjar of conspiring to kill "Hindu leaders"[11][12] and claimed that Nijjar was running a Sikh terrorist training camp near Mission, British Columbia.[13] In a letter sent in 2016 to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nijjar called the Indian government's accusations "fabricated, baseless, fictitious and politically motivated"[10] and part of a smear campaign seeking to discredit him.[4][10]

In 2018, the Indian government again accused Nijjar of "multiple targeted killings" in India, and in February 2018, Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, included Nijjar on a list of "most wanted persons" given to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.[14] In a statement, Nijjar said: "I am being targeted and framed in false criminal cases by Indian authorities for my relentless campaign against the genocidal violence against the Sikhs and continuous support for Referendum 2020 to liberate Punjab and create separate Sikh country Khalistan."[14] The Hindustan Times reported that the Surrey unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) briefly detained Nijjar for questioning in April 2018, released him within 24 hours without laying any charges.[14]

In 2020, India designated Nijjar a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, saying that he was "involved in exhorting seditionary and insurrectionary imputations and also attempting to create disharmony among different communities in India."[15] The same year, amid protests by Indian farmers against new agriculture laws, the Indian government filed a criminal case against him, one of a number of cases that authorities filed against Sikh activists living both at home and abroad; the government initially attempted to discredit the farmers' protest by associating it with Sikh nationalism.[16] In 2022, India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused him of plotting to kill a Hindu priest in Punjab, and offered a reward of ₹1,000,000 (approximately CA$16,200) for any information that could help apprehend him.[17][16]

Canadian media reports

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According to a Globe and Mail report in June 2024, Nijjar had often made inflammatory speeches calling for the use of violence against Indian adversaries.[8][18] In the report, close associates of Nijjar claimed that he espoused Sikh extremist views and had close connections to Sikh militant organizations which perpetrated mass killings, including members of the Khalistan Commando Force. While the Indian government apparatus accused Nijjar of spearheading various criminal activities in India, including the bombing of a cinema in Ludhiana, there was a dearth of evidence to substantiate these claims; the initial court proceedings did not make any mention of Nijjar or his involvement.[8][18] The report further claims that some Canadian security experts did not believe India's claims about him, remarking that there was inadequate evidence to arrest Nijjar.[8][18][19]

According to media reports, Nijjar maintained a close relationship to Jagtar Singh Tara, a conspirator in the assassination of Beant Singh, and head of various Sikh militant groups, including the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) and the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).[8][18] A close friend of Nijjar's claimed that Tara as well as two other militants involved in Beant Singh's assassination were part of Nijjar's inner circle. Following Tara's arrest in 2014, claims that Nijjar was directing Khalistan Tiger Force gained traction within his milieu.[8] During a 2015 meeting in the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Nijjar denied being in charge of KTF, although he claimed to know several members involved the organization. However, Tara's lawyer told the Globe that Nijjar was appointed by Tara to take over the KTF's leadership after his arrest.[8][18]

In 2016, Surrey plumber Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal, was apprehended by the Indian police during a visit to Punjab, he later told the police that Nijjar had directed him to commit violent acts against "sect leaders", leading the Indian media to circulate articles claiming that Khalistani "terror training camps" were operating in the British Columbia wilderness.[8] In a letter addressed to Justin Trudeau, Nijjar denied his involvement in these training camps, however, sources close to Dhaliwal told the Globe that Nijjar led 5 Sikh men to partake in various clandestine activities, including weapons training, target practice, and GPS practice in Lower Mainland BC.[8] Following these allegations, the RCMP questioned Nijjar, and he was subsequently placed on Canada's No Fly List and had his personal bank accounts frozen.[8][20]

Nijjar's associates further claimed that he had ties to the underworld.[8][18] For an undisclosed period of time, Nijjar was on the Interpol watch list, in 2016, his name was removed from the list with the assistance of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.[8] In May 2024, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested and charged three suspects in the slaying of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in June 2023, but the police didn't comment on the evidence or the motive, noting that "this matter is very much under active investigation" [21][18]

Allegations of extremist views

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Allegations of militant activity and connections

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Allegations of directing Khalistan Tiger Force

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Allegations of involvement in training camps

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Allegations of criminal activity in India

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References

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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yousif was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference RajNYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Sakshi Dayal, Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Who was the Sikh leader murdered in Canada? Archived 21 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters (September 19, 2023): “Nijjar later became chief of the militant group Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF)..., according to a 2020 Indian government statement."
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Global_June22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Nijjar ran arms training camps in Canada, funded attacks in India, intel shows". India Today. 2023-09-23. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Indian Express was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Dayal, Sakshi (2023-09-19). "Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Who was the Sikh leader murdered in Canada?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "A year after Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death, mysteries remain about how he really lived". The Globe and Mail. 2024-06-22. Retrieved 2024-06-23. Hardeep Singh Nijjar called on Sikhs to join him in a cause that had animated most of his life: the creation of an independent Sikh state, in Northwest India, known as Khalistan. Speaking in Punjabi, he invoked the use of weapons against Indian adversaries
  9. ^ Chan, Cheryl (29 May 2016). "Surrey man accused of running 'terror camp' near Mission". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SurreyMan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Hardeep Singh Nijjar Had Weekly Meetings With Canadian Officials, His Citizenship Was Granted Despite Red Corner Notice". The Tribine. 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Canada allowed Hardeep Singh Nijjar citizenship when India demanded his arrest". The Tribine. 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  13. ^ The Canadian Press (2016-06-01). "Surrey, B.C., man accused of running terrorist training camp seeks PM's help". CBC News. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  14. ^ a b c Anirudh Bhattacharyya (27 April 2018). "Canadian police frees Khalistani 'separatist' Hardeep Nijjar after 24 hours in custody". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference PathiCohen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ The Hindu Bureau (22 July 2022). "NIA declares ₹10 lakh reward for information on Khalistan Tiger Force chief". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g "The man who ignited a diplomatic firestorm". The Globe and Mail. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  19. ^ "4 men accused of killing Sikh activist appear in B.C. court". CBC. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  20. ^ "India slams Canada for holding a moment of silence for alleged terrorist". National Post. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-27. In Vancouver, Gurpreet Sahota asked Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland why Nijjar had been memorialized by Parliamentarians despite being subject to flight and financial restrictions at the time of his death.
  21. ^ "Canadian police made 3 arrests in slaying of Sikh separatist leader". CBS. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
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