Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his administration have been accusing India of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and supporting the Khalistanis to the extent of downgrading diplomatic ties with India over the same. India has reiterated in kind and has hit out at Canada for shielding terrorists.
The Ministry of External Affairs on 21 September in no minced words said that “if there’s any country that needs to look at this, I think it is Canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists, and for organised crime.”
In this regard, it is notable that Nijjar was not just a political activist supporting a separate Khalistan as being projected by Canada. In fact, he had openly indulged in extremist activities in the past, and the govt of India has been alerting the Canadian govt about his activities for several years.
Nijjar’s involvement in Khalistani terrorism started with his membership in Babbar Khalsa International, led by Jagtar Singh Tara. Later Nijjar along with Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Singh Dala raised a group of killers called the Khalistani Tiger Front (KTF).
This group carried out the targeted killing of Manohar Lal in Bhatinda in 2014, a Hindu priest in Phillaur, attempted abduction and killing of Shakti Singh, and gunned down a sacrilege accused in Moga.
In December 2015, Hardeep Nijjar conducted a terror training camp in Mission Hills, British Columbia, Canada. He imparted training to Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal and other radicalised youth in firing AK-47 rifles, sniper rifles, and pistols.
Videos of the gun training camp run by Nijjar had appeared in the media, which showed him brandishing an AK-47 riffle.
In 2016, Nijjar sent Dhaliwal to kill Shiv Sena leaders in Punjab but the latter was arrested by the Punjab Police. Dhaliwal was arrested in May 2016 and an FIR was filed under sections 124-!, 152, 120-B IPC and under sections 10, 16,18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act.
In fact, in 2016 itself, the Indian government informed Canada about the terror camp run by Nijjar, with Canadian passport number QK139247, planning terror attacks in Punjab. “Nijjar has been imparting arms training to his group in Canada after the arrest of former KTF chief Jagtar Tara in Thailand by Interpol last year. He took Mandeep Singh and three more Sikh youths recently for AK-47 training in a range near Mission where they were made to fire for four hours daily,” a report sent by India to Canada had said.
Both Mandeep and Nijjar had made frequent visits to Pakistan for arms training with the ISI, as per the govt of India report.
The report had further added, “Mandeep came to India in January 2016 from Canada with a specific plan to target police officers, Shiv Sena leaders and dera chiefs. While in India, he was in constant touch with Nijjar and Gajinder Singh in Pakistan. He was doing a recce of targets in Patiala and Ludhiana while Nijjar was to arrange weapons from Pakistan.”
There were attacks on Shiv Sena and RSS leaders in Punjab at that time. Mandeep was also in touch with DKI boss Gajinder Singh, who had masterminded the hijack of a Srinagar-Delhi Indian Airlines flight in 1981.
In November 2020, Nijjar partnered with fellow gangster Arsh Dalla, and they together were involved in the murder of Manohar Lal, a follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda, in Bathinda in 2021.
Notably, in 2014-2015, the World Sikh Organisation (WSO) helped Trudeau’s Liberal Party campaign before the federal polls. This thereby provides reason to believe that Khalistani forces had interfered in Canada’s elections under the patronage of Justin Trudeau.
The “Canadian citizen” Harshdeep Singh Nijjar whom Justin Trudeau is defending today is a known terrorist who operated from Canadian soil. If anything, Trudeau is the one who needs to come clean to the Indian government about supporting the anti-India, anti-Hindu groups fanning inciteful sentiments in India from Canadian soil.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was also arrested in Canada in 2018, but was released the next day. A Hindustan Times report from April 2018 said that he was briefly taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on 13 April, but was released within 24 hours, without any charges being filed. He was also detained in Thailand in 2015 when he was flying back from Lahore to Vancouver via Bangkok.