(Ottawa) It is entirely normal for the Sikh community to be concerned about the allegations contained in the indictment unveiled Wednesday by the American courts, where it is written that India would have three targets in its sights in Canada, indicated the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc.
“Court documents filed yesterday [mercredi] by the United States Department of Justice are of course a cause of concern which is entirely understandable within the Sikh community,” he told the House of Commons on Thursday.
The minister wanted to be reassuring, emphasizing that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and its law enforcement partners across the country were “in close contact” with the Sikh community, which feels “a level of threat increased”.
We learned on Wednesday, thanks to the filing of a detailed indictment in the United States, that the Indian government had allegedly hatched a plot to assassinate a Sikh activist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on American soil.
American law enforcement managed to foil the murder attempt.
A man, Nikhil Gupta, is accused in the case. He was allegedly recruited by New Delhi to liquidate the Canadian-American citizen, but he was cheated by confidential American sources and an undercover agent.
According to court documents, there is a link between this thwarted plot and the execution of a Sikh leader of Canadian citizenship, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia, on June 18. The indictment also mentions other potential Sikh targets, including three in Canada.
This passage obviously caused a stir within this community.
“This revelation is disconcerting,” said the president of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, Danish Singh, on Wednesday.
“We have known for decades that Indian intelligence networks target Sikhs in Canada. It is time for Canadian authorities to unmask these people […] Enough is enough,” he added.
The investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar is still ongoing.
Minister LeBlanc refused to comment on the investigation on Wednesday.
“The worst thing I could do would be to speculate or comment on the details of a police investigation or intelligence services operations,” he argued in a press scrum.
“Contrary to government policy”
PHOTO ARCHIVES REUTERS
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the G20 summit on September 9, 2023
The government of Narendra Modi reacted in a much less rebellious manner to the accusations made by the United States than to the allegations made by Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons.
Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the case was “concerning” and that the accusations were “contrary to government policy,” according to Reuters.
He did not explicitly deny the information contained in the indictment.
In comparison, New Delhi had called the Canadian Prime Minister’s allegations “absurd”.
Canada also repatriated around forty officials from its missions on Indian territory since the Modi government had threatened to withdraw their diplomatic immunity.