New Delhi: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has appealed to the Sikh Community in Canada to provide any information they may have about the links of Indian government agents to violent activities on Canadian soil as it continues to investigate allegations of homicides, extortion, and intimidation by Indian government agents.
“If people come forward, we can help them and I ask them to come forward if they can,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said in an interview with Radio-Canada.
“People come to Canada to feel safe, and our job as law enforcement is to make sure that they’re in an environment that is safe to live,” he added.
Duheme’s appeal comes amid a raging diplomatic war between India and Canada over the June 2022 killing of pro-Khalistan leader and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in his pickup van outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
In the latest flare-up, India and Canada have expelled six diplomats from each other’s country.
While the Canadian government has alleged that Indian government agents were involved in Nijjar’s killing, India has vehemently denied the charges. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself has made these allegations against India. In turn, India has accused Trudeau of making “unsubstantiated” allegations to secure the Sikh vote bank in his favour.
Canada will see a national election by October 2025.