New Delhi, July 8 -- Canadian investigators have found no evidence linking Indian government officials to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a senior police official said, directly contradicting allegations made by then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau that had triggered one of the worst diplomatic crises between India and Canada. The statement came shortly after US authorities charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associate Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, with directing Nijjar's assassination.
Speaking to CBC News, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland said the investigation had not uncovered any proof of involvement by Indian officials.
"There's no evidence to suggest through this organised crime investigation and the charges and the indictment laid forward that Indian officials were charged or involved," she said while responding to a question about Trudeau's earlier allegations.
Moreland also said the Indian government cooperated with the investigation.
Trudeau had alleged weeks after Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in 2023 that there were credible allegations linking the Indian government to the killing. India rejected the charge as "absurd" and accused Canada of allowing pro-Khalistani elements to operate from its soil, pushing bilateral ties to a low point.
The diplomatic standoff deepened in October 2024 when India recalled its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.
Relations began improving after Liberal Party leader Mark Carney won the parliamentary election in April last year. Both countries later restored their high commissioners and agreed to revive several bilateral mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in different sectors. The relationship received another boost following Prime Minister Carney's visit to India in March.
Commenting on the latest developments, former High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma told PTI Videos that India would take appropriate legal action if the United States shared credible evidence.
"India had sought evidence from day one, but there was a breach of trust. It is good to see India-Canada ties getting back on track after the Canadian police found no evidence linking the Government of India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar," he said.
The developments came as law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe carried out a coordinated crackdown, codenamed "Operation Hardball", against transnational organised crime networks.
Authorities arrested 24 people for their alleged links to three India-based organised crime groups, including the Bishnoi gang. Investigators said the accused were involved in Nijjar's murder as well as other cross-border crimes.
Moreland said the investigation found that the Bishnoi gang had been involved in extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and violence in Canada and other countries.
The US Department of Justice said the operation targeted the criminal networks of Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria following a years-long federal investigation into Indian organised crime groups involved in targeted killings, shootings, extortion, drug trafficking and other offences across the world.
It said 37 defendants, including two alleged gang leaders who operated their criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India, had been charged under three indictments unsealed on Tuesday.
"The charges set forth in the indictment include allegations that Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar directed the 2023 assassination of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada identified by his initials HSN," First Assistant US Attorney Bilal A Essay said.
Bishnoi has been lodged in an Indian jail since 2015, while the FBI has announced a reward of USD 50,000 for information leading to Brar's arrest.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the joint operation disrupted organised criminal groups that "used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States".
"We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done; we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, in the United States, and around the world," Duheme said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.