Expelled Indian high commissioner denies involvement in killing of Sikh leader in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — India’s high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the assassination of a Canadian Sikh leader killed in British Columbia last year, even though the Canadian government has named him as a person involved in the attack.

Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Time on Sunday that the allegations were politically motivated.

“Nothing at all,” Verma said when asked if he was involved in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. “No evidence presented. Politically motivated.”

Four Indian nationals living in Canada have been charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats targeted Sikh separatists in Canada by passing information about them to their government back home. They said senior Indian officials then passed that information to Indian organized crime groups, which targeted the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortion and even murder.

Verma denied that the Indian government had targeted Sikh separatists in Canada.

“As High Commissioner of India, I have never done anything like this,” he said.

All actions taken by Indian officials in Canada were “obvious,” Verma said.

In the interview, Verma condemned Nijjar’s death.

“All murder is wrong and bad,” he said. “I condemn it.”

Verma also rejected comments made by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly who compared India to Russia. She said Canadian police have linked Indian diplomats to murders, death threats and intimidation in Canada.

“Let me see the concrete evidence she is talking about,” Verma said. “In my opinion, she’s talking politically.”

India has rejected the Canadian allegations as absurd and its foreign ministry said it would expel Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.

Verma said “we have not been told a shred of evidence” about the Canadian allegations.

The RCMP said attempts earlier this month to pass evidence to Indian officials were unsuccessful.

Verma said the RCMP did not apply for the correct visas to visit India.

“A visa needs to be attached,” he said. “For a government delegation to travel to another country, you need an agenda to follow. There was no agenda at all.”

Canada is not the only country to accuse Indian officials of plotting an attack on foreign soil. The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee in connection with an alleged foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say led the New York conspiracy from India, is charged with murder-for-hire in a planned killing that prosecutors say preceded a series of other politically motivated killings in the United States and Canada.

“An indictment is not a conviction,” Verma said. “It will follow his trial.”

India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of the so-called Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but enjoys support in the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.

The Khalistan movement supports the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India.

Nijjar’s murder in Canada has strained relations between India and Canada for more than a year, but Verma does not expect it to impact business relations between the two countries.

“I don’t see any major impact on non-political bilateral relations,” he said.