Days after Canada arrested three individuals in connection with the June 2023 murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi said the Canadian authorities have informally communicated that the individuals are Indians and Ottawa has not provided any ‘official communique’.
“Let me first make it clear that no specific or relevant evidence or information has been shared by the Canadian authorities till date. You will therefore understand our view that the matter is being pre-judged. Obviously, there are political interests at work. We have long maintained that separatists, extremists and those advocating violence have been given political space in Canada,” said MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Canada arrested Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, residents of Edmonton, last week in the Nijjar murder case that has affected ties between India and Canada. They have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the crime. MEA officials, however, maintained that Canada is yet to share the details of the investigation behind the arrests indicating that the matter was conveyed to the Indian side through a “note verbale”.
