Toronto Canadian law enforcement is undertaking “separate” investigations into alleged foreign interference by India that are “distinct” from the probe related to the killing of pro-Khalistan element Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, according to a top officer involved in the probes.
The deputy chairman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Mark Flynn, while appearing before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, said on Thursday: “We have ongoing separate and distinct investigations,” which includes, “investigating the Government of India,” he said.
“India does see Khalistani protest, in support of an independent Khalistan state, as a national security concern,” Flynn added, saying that this “does not fit the definition in Canada of violent extremism”.
Flynn, who is in charge of federal policing in the country, also said that Indian authorities have often flagged its concerns over pro-Khalistan extremism in Canada.
“We do receive a broad range of material from India,” he said at the hearing. However, he added, “in Canada, we have seen where India has forwarded material to us for things that meet the definition of an offence in India but do not meet the requirement or there’s not a corresponding criminal offence in Canada.”
The investigation into the Nijjar killing on June 18 last year is being conducted by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
Nijjar was the principal Canadian organiser of the so-called Khalistan referendum, being held by the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice. He was also the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, the site of the murder. He was considered a terrorist by New Delhi but the charges against him were never tested in a Canadian court.
That murder threw relations between India and Canada into turmoil after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing. India described those accusations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
This year, Canadian police announced the arrests of four Indian nationals in connection with the killing. No evidence of an Indian connection has yet been revealed, but Canadian law enforcement has said that angle is being looked into.
In its initial report this May, the commission said that India engaged “in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians”.
The initial report pointed out that the focus of such Indian influence efforts were driven by concerns over Khalistani separatism in Canada. The report noted that India’s undertakes foreign interference activities “which aim to align Canada’s position with India’s interests on key issues, particularly with respect to how the Indian government perceives Canada-based supporters of an independent Sikh homeland (Khalistan)”.
Importantly, it recognised “Canada-based Khalistani violent extremism” though that is described as “relatively small” and added that India does not differentiate between that and “lawful, pro-Khalistani political advocacy”.
An Indian national Nik Gupta is currently in custody in New York awaiting trial in an alleged assassination case, where Nijjar’s close friend and Sikhs For Justice general-counsel Gurpatwant Pannun was targeted. According to an indictment unsealed before a Federal court in New York last year, Nijjar’s killing was alluded to in conversations and messages related to the unsuccessful Pannun hit.
