India’s envoy to Canada denies involvement in 2023 Sikh separatist leader’s killing
Montreal, Canada – India’s High Commissioner to Canada has firmly denied accusations of involvement in the 2023 murder of a prominent Sikh separatist leader, calling the allegations by the Canadian government “politically motivated.”
During an interview with CTV News on Sunday, Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s envoy, was questioned about his role in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He responded, “There’s no involvement whatsoever, no evidence presented, and this is politically driven.”
The interview came after Canadian authorities revealed that they had uncovered evidence linking Indian government agents to serious criminal activities in Canada, including connections to homicides and violent incidents. In response, the Canadian government expelled six Indian diplomats, including Verma, for their alleged involvement in Nijjar’s killing.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and a prominent figure in the Khalistan movement—an effort to establish a separate Sikh state in India’s Punjab region—was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia in June 2023. His assassination sent shockwaves through the Canadian Sikh community and strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India.
India has consistently denied the allegations, calling them “preposterous” and demanding evidence from Canada. During the interview, Verma emphasized that India is committed to not carrying out extrajudicial killings, stating that he had no part in coercing or directing anyone to gather information on pro-Khalistan activists. He clarified that any intelligence gathering was done through open sources, saying, “We read the newspapers, we listen to their statements.”
The tensions between the two countries intensified as members of Canada’s Sikh community, one of the largest in the world, have long claimed they face intimidation from the Indian government. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice charged an Indian government official in a failed assassination plot against another Sikh separatist leader in the U.S., further highlighting the ongoing concerns about foreign interference.
