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Top Canadian officials admit to leaking information to US daily about Amit Shah, India’s ‘interference’

Top Canadian officials admit to leaking information to US daily about Amit Shah, India’s ‘interference’

India-Canada Series: Canada’s Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison told members of Parliament’s National Security Committee on Tuesday that Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah had “ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence gathering” against Sikh separatists in Canada, the Associated Press reported.

Morrison told the committee that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations a day before India recalled its six diplomats, including the high commissioner, from Canada. “The journalist called me and asked if this is the person. I have confirmed that this is the person,” Morrison told MPs. However, Morrison did not comment on how Canada knew about Shah’s alleged involvement.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser, Nathalie Drouin, told the committee that Canada has evidence that the Indian government initially collected information about Indian citizens and Canadians in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She claimed that this piece of information was then passed on to the government in New Delhi, which she claimed was “working with a criminal network linked to Lawrence Bishnoi,” according to the AP report.

According to The Globe and Mail, the leak also linked India to the murder of Sikh activist Sukhdul Singh Gill, who was shot dead in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023. This happened only two days after the statement of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Representatives. The House of Commons accuses India of involvement in the June 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijar in Surrey, British Columbia.

Although no charges have been laid in Gill’s case, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhem said on October 14 that evidence linked India to multiple murders, with Nijjar the only person named.

What did Prime Minister Trudeau say about Nijar’s murder?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that Ottawa had credible evidence that “agents of the Indian government” were involved in the June 2023 killing of pro-Khalistan Sikh radical Hardeep Singh Nijar in British Columbia.

However, in testimony before the Commission on Foreign Interference earlier this month, Trudeau admitted that he had “no evidence” to support allegations that Indian government agents were involved in Nijar’s murder. He also said that India committed a “massive mistake and violated the country’s sovereignty”.

Canadian police also alleged that “agents” of the Indian government were collaborating with Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang to spread terror on Canadian soil.

“It (India) is targeting the South Asian community, but they are specifically targeting pro-Khalistan elements in Canada… What we have seen, from the RCMP’s point of view, is that they are using organized crime elements. It has been publicly attributed and alleged by one organized crime group in particular, the Bishnoi group… We believe that this group is linked to agents of the Government of India,” said Brigitte Gauvin, assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at a briefing this month.

India calls Canada’s accusations “ridiculous”

The Foreign Office has expelled six Canadian diplomats, including Acting High Commissioner Stuart Ross Wheeler, amid a growing row over the investigation into Nijar’s murder.

India called Canada’s accusations “ridiculous” and announced it would recall Indian officials expelled by the Canadian government. India also said that Canada has not provided any “proof of Indian involvement in the killing of Nijar” despite repeated requests. He also accused Trudeau of engaging in vote bank politics and not doing enough to deal with separatist elements in his own country.