Indian cabinet minister behind violent campaign against Sikh separatists in Canada, officials say

OTTAWA -

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison has confirmed a report that Canada is alleging an Indian cabinet minister and close adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered intelligence-gathering operations of Canadians.

The Washington Post first reported that Canadian officials alleged Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

Morrison told MPs at the national security committee Tuesday that he was the one who confirmed Shah's name to that newspaper.

"The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person," Morrison told the committee.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

On Oct. 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were persons of interest in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation and violence aimed at quieting a campaign for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.

Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council Office and National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister, Nathalie Drouin, in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Nathalie Drouin, the prime minister's national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She said the information was then passed along to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with a criminal network affiliated with Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.

Before the RCMP went public with allegations that Indian diplomats were persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability.

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Drouin said a meeting was held with Modi's national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier.

Drouin said the decision was made to go public when it became evident the Indian government would not co-operate with Canada on proposed accountability measures.

That included asking India to waive diplomatic immunity for the persons of interest, including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Drouin said this was not seen as likely.

The RCMP said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety.

The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in return.

Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer said the evidence heard by the committee on Tuesday reinforces "whispers" that have existed in the Sikh community for years, and described the situation as something out of a Bollywood movie.

Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses at the committee alongside RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, CSIS director Daniel Rogers and associate deputy public safety minister Tricia Geddes.

Both Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly are expected to appear at future meetings as the study continues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.