India notes Canadian police remarks finding no government link to Nijjar killing
On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi noted statements by a senior Canadian police official confirming that investigators have found no evidence linking Indian government agents to the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Speaking at a media briefing in the capital, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India has taken note of the remarks made by Lisa Moreland, the deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Moreland's comments, made last week, contradict previous allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that linked Indian government agents to the murder.
Moreland’s statement followed recent announcements by the United States Department of Justice regarding indictments against transnational organised criminal networks. US authorities have charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, with ordering Nijjar’s assassination.
Jaiswal stated that the RCMP deputy commissioner's remarks are consistent with the recently unsealed US indictment, which attributes responsibility for the killing to members of the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group.
During the briefing, Jaiswal reiterated that India has consistently maintained that transnational organised crime, terrorism, narco-trafficking, human trafficking, illegal firearms trafficking, and related criminal networks pose a serious threat to societies. He added that India and the US share strong and growing cooperation in combating terrorism and transnational organised crime, with close coordination between their agencies continuing to deepen.
Nijjar was killed in 2023 outside a gurudwara in British Columbia. Weeks after the incident, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations linking the Indian government to the murder, which New Delhi categorically dismissed as "absurd."
The allegations led to a severe diplomatic dispute, with India accusing Ottawa of allowing pro-Khalistani elements to operate on Canadian soil. In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the case. India also expelled six Canadian diplomats in response.
According to the ministry, relations began to rebuild following Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s victory in the parliamentary election in April last year.
