Canada’s Justin Trudeau claims nexus between Indian diplomats and Lawrence Bishnoi gang

Justin Trudeau, testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions, on Wednesday alleged that the Indian diplomats were collecting information on Canadians who are in disagreement with the Narendra Modi government and passing it to the highest levels within the Indian government and criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has a grim reputation for assassinations and extortion on the Indian soil, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has accused it of possible involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing.

The RCMP named the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as an organised crime entity used by India to target members of the South Asian diaspora and Sikh separatists.

India has strongly rejected attempts by the Canadian authorities to link Indian agents with criminal gangs in Canada. Official sources in the Indian government said Canada’s assertion that it shared evidence with New Delhi in the Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar case was “simply not true”.

Justin Trudeau accused India of violating his country’s sovereignty, as diplomatic tensions soar over the 2023 killing of Hardeep Nijjar in Vancouver.

At the parliamentary inquiry, Justin Trudeau addressed what he characterised as broad efforts by Indian representatives to silence critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Canadian soil, news agency AFP reported.

Justin Trudeau further detailed conduct that he said involved Indian “diplomats collecting information on Canadians who are opponents or in disagreement with the Modi government”.

He added that information was then passed along to “the highest levels within the Indian government”, and then “through criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to then result in violence against Canadians on the ground”.

Trudeau alleged that India’s intimidation tactics in Canada were not limited exclusively to the Sikh community.

Trudeau also noted his government could have gone public with the allegations when India hosted the G20 Summit in September 2023, but chose not to. He met with Modi and expressed concerns privately then.

“It was a big moment for India welcoming all the leaders of the world to New Delhi for a very important summit and we had the opportunity of making it a very uncomfortable summit for India if we went public with these allegations ahead of time,” said Trudeau. “We chose to continue to work with India behind the scenes to try and get India to cooperate with us.”

Trudeau said when he returned home India’s response, particularly through the media, was to attack Canada.

Trudeau later went public in Parliament with the allegation that the Indian government might have been involved in Niijar’s killing.

Responsibility for damage caused to India-Canada ties lies with Trudeau alone: MEA

The ministry of external affairs on Thursday said what it has heard only “confirms” New Delhi’s consistent stand that Canada has “presented us no evidence” in support of the serious allegations Ottawa chose to level against India and Indian diplomats.

Trudeau acknowledged that he had only intelligence and no “hard evidentiary proof” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Nijjar.

The MEA issued a statement in response to media queries related to Trudeau’s deposition, some of whose details came out in media reports.

“What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along — Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

The ministry further said, “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.”