OTTAWA: Canadian security agencies believe that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, along with other violent plots, according to a report by leading Canadian daily The Globe and Mail.
Citing an unnamed Canadian national security official, the report suggests that the plot to kill Nijjar was orchestrated by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, and that Modi, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were all informed about the operation before it was carried out. This is the first time that it has been said that Modi, Jaishankar, and Doval knew about the attempt to kill Nijjar.
The Canadian official emphasized that discussions on the plot must have occurred at the highest levels of the Indian government. “It would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India—Modi, Jaishankar, and Doval—were not aware and involved in discussions about the targeted killing before it proceeded,” the official told The Globe and Mail.
In addition to the killing of Nijjar, which occurred last year as he left a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canadian intelligence agencies are also convinced that the killings were part of a larger campaign orchestrated by Amit Shah. Both US and Canadian intelligence agencies have reportedly linked Shah to the masterminding of the plot.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme revealed in October that there is evidence to suggest India’s involvement in the killing of not just Nijjar, but three other individuals as well. The RCMP has so far charged eight individuals with murder and another 22 with extortion. The force also issued a warning that 13 other individuals were considered to be in “imminent danger.” According to the RCMP, “the scale of India’s activities could not be stopped solely by law enforcement.”
